Sweet Kisses
by Giant Nickel
Summary: Sometimes, it's the little moments that make life so grand. A collection of oneshots about EdxWin.
1. Possessive

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist_

**A/N:** _Hello readers one and all! So, this is my newest project. I thought I'd tackle a series of oneshots that prominently feature EdxWin and that revolve around various themes. I'm not going to say it's a response to the 100 Themes challenge since I'll be working with my own themes, but it's along the same idea. Some of the stories will be over-the-top fluff, others will be humorous or angsty, there will both anime and manga oneshots, and if I decide to change my 'T' rating, there might be some smut. I also have no idea how many oneshots will end up in this collection, so bear with me. It will end when it will end._

_So, I hope you enjoy the first fic._

_Onward!_

* * *

**Possessive**

Ed woke up stiff and cranky. His neck was sore, his back muscles burned, his hair was frizzy and knotted and he had the horrible taste of death and cotton in his mouth. He clucked his tongue and smacked his lips a few times, hoping to lessen the tangy staleness that was stuck to the inside of his cheeks and gums, but there was no helping it.

Groaning, Ed rolled over onto his back and reached out with his right arm – his right _flesh_ arm – and was met with cool nothingness. Cracking open one scrutinizing golden eye, Ed noticed that the sheets beside him were rumpled and slept in, but empty. It surprised the eighteen year old to discover that his girlfriend wasn't nestled beside him, obnoxiously hogging the blankets and mumbling in her sleep about bolts and cables. Winry had never been a morning person, not even when they were children. Ed suspected part of the reason she refused to wake was due to her heavily obsessed automail fantasies. Winry lived, breathed and even dreamed automail, letting her profession consume her entirely to the point that, on occasion, it was difficult for Ed not to feel a little jealous towards the metal alloys that Winry loved so much.

Of course, ever since the Promised Day when he had returned Al to his original body and retrieved his own arm and leg, Ed hadn't needed Winry's mechanical services. She was happy to see him whole again, there was no doubt, but she had also confessed that she missed being able to work on him to her heart's content.

Ed's response to that had been to kiss his childhood friend ravenously and remind her that there were other parts of his body that he would happily let her detail, no wrench required.

He grinned cheekily to himself, remembering how Winry had blushed and blustered innocently at his crass comment. Of course, it wasn't too long after that that the two teenagers were testing out Ed's suggestion, discovering that, indeed, there were many parts of Ed's body that Winry could shape and tweak with her talented mechanics fingers. It was always a pleasure to let her 'work' on him, but after two and a half years together, there wasn't much Ed could do to get Winry to blush, especially once she moved in with him three weeks ago.

Deciding to stay with the military after the Promised Day, Ed had been forced to live in the barracks of the new Central military until he was of legal age. Al, once he had recovered his full strength, was requested by Regent Chancellor Olivia Armstrong to serve as an Amestrian emissary to the country of Xing and work out trade negotiations. Major General Roy Mustang had personally requested that Winry Rockbell set up an automail shop in Central, educating young mechanics-in-training and helping to rehabilitate those who had been injured in the battle that pitted human against homunculus. It had nothing to do with keeping the Fullmetal Alchemist from becoming listless and overly foul-tempered at the separation from his younger brother, or so the Major General had insisted with cocky authority.

Ed would never thank Mustang, but he also wouldn't deny that having Winry just a few blocks down from his dormitory was pretty great. He could visit her on his lunch hour and, if given leave by his superior officer (Mustang-the-Bastard, of course) he could spend the weekends with Winry in her little apartment above her shop. It was a pleasant arrangement, but it had its flaws

Being chained to the military, it was often difficult for Ed to get leave to see her, and with Winry's automail quickly becoming one of the most in-demand in the nation, Winry herself had a full schedule to keep before she could make plans with her equally busy boyfriend. What they needed was their own space, and it was with over exaggerated zealousness that Ed had announced one minute after he was a legal adult that he would be moving out of the barracks into his own place.

It was no surprise that he had invited Winry to move in with him.

It was even less of a surprise that they rented a one bedroom apartment.

For the first time in a very long time, Edward Elric could admit to being happy. He had everything he wanted, including his brother's health and the woman he loved in his bed every night. The Fullmetal Alchemist's good humor did not go unnoticed by his peers and friends. Jean Havoc had once griped that Ed was locked in a honeymoon phase with Winry, warning the young man that it wouldn't be long before he and Winry were at each other's throats like usual.

Ed didn't mind.

Winry was sexy when she was pissed off.

Ed smiled, stretching his sore muscles as his mind tried to convince the rest of his body to get out of bed. He sat up and yawned, raising a hand to scratch his face and shuddered to discover stiff little whiskers along his jaw.

There had been a lot of perks to be gained after Al got his body back. For one, Ed began to grow, now at eye level with Mustang. Another had been Ed's rather rapid ascent into manhood, which included broader shoulders, a mature voice, and hair, particularly around his navel and trailing down towards his groin. What Ed could have lived without, however, was the facial hair.

It was bad enough he already looked like his father with his golden eyes and blond hair, but Edward would be damned if he grew a beard! He shaved faithfully twice a day, determined to look as little like Hoenheim as was in his control. Even Winry's suggestions on how the prickly whiskers might be fun in bed couldn't stop Ed from vehemently shaving.

Looking around for the pants that Winry had fervently, and insistently, discarded from him the night before, Ed forced his sore body to carry him off of the bed, pull on the trousers and clomp heavily towards the bathroom. Scratching his bare stomach and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Ed lightly kicked the ajar bathroom door fully open and was greeted with a sight that left him alert and paralyzed.

Winry was standing there, her body wrapped in a crimson towel, her skin damp with water droplets and her long sodden hair falling down her back in thick, dark blond tangles. The steam from the shower she had obviously just taken wrapped around her figure like long caressing fingers. Her left leg was propped up on the porcelain sink which caused the red towel to rise up her hips and barely spare her modesty. That long, elegant leg was lathered in a thick creamy soap from thigh to ankle. There was a glimmer of something in her right hand and Ed watched with wide, surprised eyes as Winry reached out and ran the sharp, shiny blade along her flesh.

"Winry! That's my razor!" Ed hollered.

Startled, Winry bit back a screech and pulled the straight razor away from her leg, throwing Ed an irritated glower.

"You almost made me cut myself!" she yelled.

"Winry. That's-my-razor!" Ed stressed seriously, stomping into the bathroom.

"I know." she answered as if the matter was trivial.

Oh, how wrong she was.

"Why are you using _my_ razor to shave _your_ legs?"

"Mine's finished." Winry said easily as she resumed shaving her leg, wiping the excess soap from the blade onto the towel around her body. "I forgot to pick up a new one on the way home from work yesterday."

"So you decided that it was OK to use mine instead?"

"Yeah."

"Winry." Ed growled again, pinching the bridge of his nose as he attempted to keep his cool. The girl was not getting it, most likely being purposely difficult just to get on his nerves. "That is a straight razor. It's for shaving a man's face, not for pruning your chicken legs."

"What's your problem?" Winry demanded.

"You don't just up and use a man's razor to shave your legs!" Ed exclaimed.

"And why not?"

"It ruins the blade! Look!" Ed swiped the razor from Winry's hand, wiping the excess soap on his pants so that he could better examine the blade. "It's useless now." he groaned.

"It is not!" Winry shot back, unable to see the imperfections that Ed was insisting were there. It still looked as sharp to her as it had before.

"It couldn't cut soft butter now. You've ruined it."

"There's nothing wrong with it." Winry said as she swiped the razor back from her boyfriend. "Why are you over exaggerating? I haven't seen you this irritable since the last time Major General Mustang called you a shrimp."

"It was _my_ razor." Ed lamented.

"Oh, stop being so possessive, especially over something so petty. We live together now, Ed, that means we have to start sharing."

"But Win…"

"Stop being a baby and learn to share!"

"Fine!"

Using his hip to butt Winry out of the way, Ed stood in front of the sink, ignoring his girlfriend's protests as she regained her balance from having her leg pushed out of the way.

"What are you doing?"

Ed didn't answer for a moment, opening the medicine cabinet with swift force and rummaging through the contents. Winry tried to look around his body to see what he was up to, but Ed would have none of that, using his broad back to keep her view blocked. Finding what he was searching for, Ed's golden eyes lit up dangerously.

He was going to teach Winry a lesson in sharing, and if the evil little smirk he had plastered on his face was any indication, the young woman wasn't going to like it.

Quickly doing what he had to, Ed turned around, a proud smirk on his face as he wiggled the object that was snuggly in his mouth between his teeth.

"Ed! That's gross!" Winry cried, horrified at what she was seeing.

"Why?" Ed asked childishly.

"Because that's my toothbrush!"

Ed just chuckled and proceeded to vigorously scrub his teeth with the blue toothbrush that did indeed belong to Winry.

"Stop it!" Winry demanded, making a grab for her toothbrush only to have Ed evade her, his self-righteous chuckling echoing off the tile walls.

"Don't be so _possessive_." Ed mocked. "You need to learn to _share_."

"Edward! My toothbrush and your razor are two totally different things."

"How so?"

"Because!" Winry growled as she made another failed attempt to salvage her toothbrush from between Ed's lips.

"Stop being a baby." Ed chirped. He could see the fire behind Winry's clear blue eyes and it only encouraged him to further press her buttons. "Relax, Win, it's only a stupid toothbrush. Besides, it's not like you don't know where my mouth's been."

He easily ducked and avoided the razor that Winry threw at him with deadly accuracy, but the Fullmetal Alchemist wasn't agile enough to avoid the bar of soap that was thrown at him, hitting his left eye perfectly.

Cursing, Ed tripped over the floor mat and fell into the bathtub in an ungraceful heap. Pressing the heel of his left palm into his stinging eye, Ed shot Winry a defiant glance, only to cower under her scathing glare. That overwhelmingly ferocious look promised the young man that if he was lucky enough not to be forced to sleep on the couch, it would be quite a while before he would be getting laid again by his girlfriend.

She was furious!

Still, as Ed grumbled and cursed, he couldn't help but notice the adorable shade of blotchy fuchsia Winry's face had turned. Seeing her so thoroughly embarrassed, Ed had to smile even as Winry stomped out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

Ed sighed.

The honeymoon was now well and truly over, but at least Ed hadn't lost his talent for making Winry blush.

* * *

_So, I guess Winry learned that there are some things you just don't share._

_This was just a bit of insanity that sprung from my mind as I was contemplating a possible post-manga fic. I actually think Ed and Winry would be pretty cute and domestic if they lived together. _

_As always, reviews are the highlight of my writing experience, so please leave one and let me know your thoughts on this drabble. No flames, please and thank you!_

_Hugs and best wishes!_

**Giant Nickel**


	2. Guidance

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Oh cruel destiny!_

**A/N:** _So, here is another oneshot that serves little purpose other than fueling my creativity and, hopefully, entertaining all of you readers. This oneshot isn't as funny as the pervious one…more like a pull-on-your-heartstrings sort of story._

_And Ed is just too cute when he's a moody but thoughtful little guy._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**Guidance**

Ed growled as he crinkled up the yellow paper and tossed it over his shoulder to join the mounting pile of ruined stationery. Gritting his teeth, the ten year old stabbed the fresh sheet of paper furiously, causing an impertinent ink spot to blotch the surface. His face went purple as he tried to suppress his rage, but he only succeeded in making himself even madder, throwing his pen across the bedroom and tearing up the paper before him into little pieces of dull confetti. Huffing as if he had just finished a training session with his master, Ed reached for another pen, filled it with ink from the inkwell at his right, and tried to write his letter for the thirty-eighth time.

***

_Dear Winry_

_Happy birthday. How does it feel to be another year older? You're nearly old enough to be a hag like Granny…_

_***_

Ed threw the paper away in the blink of an eye. That was a lame jibe even for him. And what was he thinking calling Winry a hag? She was the same age as him! She wasn't even anywhere near becoming the relic that her grandmother was.

Straightening his shoulders, he took a new sheet of paper from the top of the pile at his left and tried again.

***

_Dear Winry_

_Happy 10__th__ birthday! So, how's the weather back home? Has it snowed yet? They don't get much snow in Dublith…_

_***_

"Dammit!" Ed cursed, crushing the paper between his palms and adding it to the pile of failed letters. It was Winry's tenth birthday and he was asking her about the weather? What kind of a moron was he?!

Looking up at the coo-coo clock that hung on the wall over the secretary desk, Ed felt a twinge of panic. It was already past three. He was running out of time! If he didn't finish the letter soon the last mail coach of the week would leave and then his note would never reach Winry before her birthday passed. Glancing over his shoulder to be sure that his master or her husband weren't walking down the hallway, Ed hunched over another fresh piece of yellow stationery and began to scribble his birthday wishes to his friend. He wasn't just in a rush to get the letter off to the mail coach, he was also in a hurry to complete the letter before his teacher caught him ditching afternoon drills.

"EDWARD ELRIC!"

Too late.

Even though he wanted to, there was no way that Ed could have dodged the cook book that was thrown at his head with such accurate force that it ricocheted off the back of his skull, forcing his face to bang forward and smash onto the hard walnut surface of the old secretary. Ed's nose made a rather squishy thud sound and it began to bleed, the little stream of red running onto the paper under his face.

The boy only had a moment to determine that his nose was not broken before Izumi Curtis, his frightening alchemy master, was yanking him up by his collar and flipping him over her head. He landed on the mountain of crumpled paper balls, spreading them about the bedroom in a landslide of yellow, and before he could gain his footing, Izumi flipped him onto his belly, planted one knee into his back and yanked his right arm flat against his spine.

He was well and truly pinned.

He struggled a little, but had learned that his chances of actually escaping her grasp were futile. He had lost, something he hated, but in the last four months with the so-called housewife, Ed had learned that losing wasn't the end of the world.

After all, he _always_ lost to Izumi Curtis.

"Would you mind tell me, Edward, why you're in here when you're supposed to be in the back yard running drills with Alphonse? You're going to be punished for this. Alphonse, too, for lying for you. And why the hell is there a sea of paper balls in the middle of the room? This is my good stationery, Ed. It doesn't come cheap!"

"I know, I know, sorry!" Ed hollered, suddenly panicked that his teacher had noticed the letters. He began to squirm and struggle when she skillfully picked one up and unfolded it with one hand so that she could read its contents. "Don't read that!" Ed barked. "It's private!"

He continued to put up a useless fight, unable to stop his teacher from reading seven letters in total before her brow crinkled and her lips pressed together into a grim line as she discovered what her student had been up to.

"Ed, none of these letters are finished. They only have two or three sentences and they're all addressed to the same girl."

"Yeah." Ed grumbled, laying his face flat against the carpet and letting his body go limp. Startled by her most stubborn student's show of defeat, Izumi lifted her knee off of Ed and allowed him to sit up and face her. He did, his movements sluggish. He sat upright in front of her, his legs bent and arched wide before him so that the bottoms of his feet clapped together. He kept his hands at his sides, his large gold eyes downcast and his head turned away from her penetrating brown gaze.

Izumi stared at her student, rough and obstinate as always, and was reminded of how serious Edward Elric was for a ten year old little boy. Perhaps that came from loosing his parents at such a young age and having a little brother to protect, or maybe it came from his keen mind and fundamental understanding of the world. Wherever it hailed from, it bothered Izumi to see a child, a baby really, pass through his youth without ever taking the time to actually be a kid. If Ed didn't slow down, his childhood would be over and he would never be able to go back. He needed to take the time to enjoy the world through innocent eyes.

Maybe that's what the letters were for.

"Is Winry the girl who you and Al said goodbye to in Resembool?"

Ed nodded slowly, still frowning and still not looking directly at his teacher.

"Al's told me a little bit about her. She's your age, has been your neighbor for years…he said she's your best friend."

Ed blushed, but he didn't deny Izumi's comments.

"She's also studying a specific field, isn't she? Some sort of medicine…it has to do with prosthetics…automail, right?" There was still no confirmation or denial from the ten year old and he still wouldn't look his teacher in the eye. Growing slightly impatient with the boy's attitude, Izumi quickly scanned her memory for something that she thought might get a reaction out of Ed. Al hadn't ever said much about the little girl that lived in Resembool, but there had been one story…something about a contest between the brothers…oh! "Al also told me that you two fought over who would get to marry Winry someday."

"He's lying!" Ed cried, finally riled up enough to face his teacher with cross looking eyes. Izumi simply smiled knowingly which made Ed grimace, his face pink and burning with embarrassment.

"What's this all about, Edward?"

"Nothing!"

"I am your teacher and you will answer me!" Izumi commanded.

"It's got nothing to do with alchemy so why do you care?!" Ed hollered back.

"Because as long as you are my student I am responsible for you in all things?! I do care about your well being, you brat!" Izumi declared with passionate fury, making Ed quiver under her penetrating gaze.

Knowing she was being too brash, Izumi forced herself to relax her posture and raised a hand so she could run her fingers though Ed's golden colored hair. The gesture was gentle and surprising and Ed froze for a moment under her sifting fingers. He wasn't shocked to discover that Izumi Curtis could be tender when she wanted to, but other than carefully patching up his wounds from a particularly sever sparring match, Izumi's gentle touches were usually given to Al. Ed didn't do very much to earn those kind caresses, but now that he was finally on the receiving end of such soft temperance, Ed noticed a certain warmth, a maternity, that radiated from the gruff woman.

It almost felt like having a mother again.

Ed leaned heavily into Izumi's touch, accepting her comfort and indulging in the fantasy of having his mother returned to him, _her_ fingers running through his hair, _her_ voice reading a favorite story, _her_ smile making his world bright and beautiful.

"I care much more about you than your alchemy skills." Izumi whispered.

And that very nearly did Ed in.

He could feel the hated stinging of tears collecting in the corners of his eyes and fought them fiercely, but for just a moment, Ed considered breaking down and confessing everything. In the blink of an eye he could have wrapped his arms around his teacher's neck and told her how much he still missed his mother, how hard it was to always be the strong older brother, how angry he still was with his bastard father, how frustrated he was with his alchemy studies, how much he missed home…how much he missed that yellow house, and walking with Winry to school, and throwing paper airplanes at her head, and ignoring her as she droned on about automail, and making floral crowns for her, and just how much he missed…how much he missed _her_.

The wave of emotion was heavy and sudden, but like the tide, it receded, and because he was so strong and pig-headed Ed didn't break down and reveal his most guarded secrets to the woman before him.

Instead, he decided to explain the letters.

"It's Winry's birthday in two weeks." he muttered.

"I gathered that much."

"She'll be ten."

"Well, then she's very nearly a lady." Izumi commented with a smile.

Ed snorted.

"Winry Rockbell is the most un-cute, gangly machine-freak dork in the whole country." Ed replied. "Her being a lady is a joke."

Izumi smacked Ed across the head, adding another bump to his terribly abused skull.

"If you talk about your friend like that then you deserve to get beaten over the head." Izumi remarked casually.

"Stupid, crazy wench." Ed muttered as he cradled his fresh bump.

"What was that?!" Izumi roared, the power behind her voice transforming Ed into a shivering mass of flesh and sweat.

"Nothing!" Ed promised, raising his hands placating. He would much rather bow to Izumi's rage than try to be a tough smart-ass, which was his trademark.

"I thought so." Izumi drawled, also deciding that a fight would not be constructive at the moment. She took a therapeutic breath, relaxed her nerves, and continued. "So, these letters are for your friend, then. Why so many half-started ones?"

"I can't get the worlds out right!" Ed confessed, pulling at his hair. "And if I don't finish it before five o'clock the mail coach will leave and there won't be another one for a week and she'll never get it on time!"

"Would that be so bad?"

"Yes!" Ed roared. "Al already sent _his_ letter _and_ he got her a gift, too and…" Ed trailed off, his astute mind catching up to the words that had tumbled out of his mouth without preamble or censorship. He never, _never_, said a word about the root of his anxiousness, no matter the situation, and now here he was, standing amidst a pile of crinkled yellow paper balls with his teacher knelling before him, and he had just _told_ her why he was in such a state.

He was too stressed out. That had to be it.

"How come you don't have a gift for Winry?" Izumi asked calmly.

" 'Cuz I…I guess I forgot about it." Ed mumbled, his voice tinged with shame. "I spent my allowance on alchemy books and Al…well, he remembered her birthday so he saved his money and bought her a photo album. He's such a jerk!" Ed spat angrily. "He should of reminded me!"

"Ed, he's your little brother. You can't expect him to take care of you forever."

"But he only had to do this one thing. I'm the one that's always taking care of h…"

"And you shouldn't expect yourself to take care of him forever, either." Izumi interrupted, her voice even and wise. "You're still just a little boy, Ed."

"Who're you calling a vertically challenged prepubescent speck?!" Ed demanded, hopping to his feet and taking a defensive stance against his teacher. He did note with a frown that even standing upright he wasn't taller than his master, and she was kneeling down. Still, Ed fought his flush of embarrassment and stared with narrowed intensity at the woman in front of him. Rather than begin to spar with the ten year old and remind him that he was to respect his elders, Izumi just gave Ed a few hard pats on the crown of his head and stood up.

"Like it or not, Ed, you _are_ just a boy. Stop trying to act so grown up all of the time. Enjoy being young while you can. Study hard and have dreams but most of all, play with Al, have fun with your friend, and just do your best to live a happy life." Izumi advised. "Now," she sighed, picking up her cook book, "you've got a little less than an hour to write that letter and get it to the mail coach on time. Since you don't have a gift for her you'd better make this letter very special, and the only way to do that is to be honest. If you're honest, she'll like your letter, no matter what."

"What sort of advice is that?!" Ed yelled as Izumi turned to leave.

"By the way," she said, pausing at the door, "you'll be making up for missing your drills after supper." she dictated, leaving a very disgruntled ten year old behind her.

Ed stared furiously at the empty space where Izumi had been standing, frustrated so greatly that he thought his body might erupt, unable to contain his uproarious feelings. But then he thought of Winry and how she would be expecting something from him, especially since she'd be getting a parcel from Al. She'd be so mad at him if he didn't send something to her…

Sighing, Ed returned to the desk, collapsing into the chair and lightly ran his fingertips over the yellow paper, breaking it down in his mind.

'_Barium sulfate, sodium hydroxide, hydrated silicate, calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide…_'

Life was so much simpler when you broke it down into its most basic elements. Everything had a chemical composition and when certain elements mixed with other certain elements a reaction occurred. That reaction was what we called air, or water, fire, or even a human being.

That was truth.

Feelings, however, well, they couldn't be calculated. They couldn't be dissected or logically explained. Their reasons for being were unknown and illogical and substantial and pointless.

There was no truth in feelings, only infinite possibilities and wasted time, and even though they were incalculable, they were honest.

Honesty was different from truth.

Truth was facts and figures and logic.

Honesty was raw and frightening and vulnerable.

When it came to truth, Ed was in his shining glory. However, he doubted Winry would appreciate a perfect copy of the periodic table of elements, so he supposed that he would have to venture into the land of unknown variables and be honest. Teacher seemed to think that was best, and no matter that she was a bit of bully and seemed to have a rod up her ass, Izumi Curtis had never guided her students down the wrong path.

With only half an hour left to write, Ed put pen to paper and made a final attempt at scrawling Winry a birthday letter. He wasn't perfectly happy with the final product, but it was too late to change his mind. He signed the letter, quickly wrote the Rockbell address on an envelope, sealed it and pasted a stamp perfectly in the left hand corner before running like a rampaging bull down the streets of Dublith, just catching the mail coach as it was departing the town.

He had followed his teacher's guidance and had been as honest as possible in his letter, but he wasn't sure if his words would really matter to Winry or make her notice his efforts above the shiny leather-bound album Al had bought her. But he _had_ been honest, and maybe, that was enough.

***

_Dear Winry,_

_Happy Birthday. I'm sorry that I missed it this year. This is the first birthday that we haven't been together and it feels really strange. But I haven't forgotten you. I promise, I'll make this all up to you next year._

_I don't have a gift for you. Sorry. I'll bring you back something really great when Al and I return. _

_Eat a piece of cake for me, and give Den a good belly rub, too. Training is going really well, so I think Al and I will be back before you know it! _

_It'll be great to finally go back to Resembool. Dublith is a nice town, really warm and green, but you're not here, so it doesn't feel the same._

_It's not home. _

_I miss you._

_Hope all of your birthday wishes come true._

_Ed_

_***_

If Ed had known that Winry's one and only birthday wish that year was granted the moment she received his letter, the young boy might not have cursed his teacher so much when she made him run laps around the block with slabs of frozen beef on his back as punishment for skipping out on his afternoon drills.

* * *

_Awwwww! Ed's insecure! So cute!_

_Anyway, I know that the EdxWin thing isn't the most prominent relationship in this little ficlet, but I just adore the maternal relationship between Ed, Al and Izumi and the image of her giving Ed advice, even if it is subtle, about girls was just adorable. Ed is surrounded by many great women throuhougt his whole life, the three most prominent being his mother, Winry and Izumi. This was a chance to explore all three of those relationships in some detail, which also gave me a chance to try and explore why Ed is the way he is, why he makes certain choices, and why he acts in certain ways. _

_Izumi is a great teacher, especially if she has the patience to put up with Ed as a student. I don't think any of my teachers could have handled an intense kid like him._

_So, did you like it?_

_Please, take a little time to leave a review and let me know what you think._

_No flames, please and thank you!_

**Giant Nickel**


	3. Thoughtful

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. So no money for me._

**A/N:** _This little fic is nothing more than fluff and a little look at Ed's character. I like when Ed is being sweet and Winry is caught off guard. BTW, this fic takes place when Ed is staying in East City. I picture him to be about thirteen or so. Now, I know that between the time Ed becomes a State Alchemist and when the manga starts, it is suggested that Ed hasn't seen Winry or gone back to Resembool for three/four years. However, it is never actually stated that Ed, Al and Winry never see each other again during that time, and honestly, do you really believe that Ed never did something to his automail in three/four years? I don't, and so I think that over the course of that time gap, Ed would have made the odd trip to Resembool and Winry would have made the odd trip to East City. _

_This, is one of those trips. _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**Thoughtful**

"Where is she now?!" Ed grumbled, his arms laden with several bags and boxes, all of them belonging to his demanding mechanic who had decided to make it her mission to drain Ed's account down to the last sen. "Al, can you see her?"

The giant suit of antique of armor that was lumbering alongside Ed peeked over the pile of parcels that he was carrying and scanned the large crowd that was packed into the Cornerstone Market, East City's colossal shopping district.

"I can't see her, Brother." Al reported, his voice only slightly colored with distress.

"Dammit! We've lost her again?!" Ed cursed, stomping angrily down the sidewalk, no longer concerned with being gentle with Winry's cargo. He was fed up with being her pack-mule.

"Slow down, Brother!" Al pleaded. With his bulky metal frame, sometimes it was difficult for Alphonse to maneuver through crowds, especially when the people around him were more concerned with the half-off sales and bargain bin madness rather than the giant of iron that was trying to carefully slip between them. In a way, it was rather refreshing to not have people pay attention to him, but when they wouldn't clear a path so he could easily chase after his rampaging brother, the indifference was a major nuisance.

"I have had it!" Ed declared, nearly throwing down Winry's bags. All of her parcels were heavy, clunky, awkward pieces, each one having to do with automail. Tools, screws, toolboxes, a date book, new overalls, modeling clay and sample sheets of several metal alloy combinations only made up about half of the items Ed and his brother were forced to carry around the Cornerstone. He was tired, he was hungry, he was fed up of loosing Winry in the shopping crowds and most of all, he had had it with listening to the girl drone on about sockets, bearings and cables.

This was going to end!

"Where is she?!" Ed growled dangerously. "When I find her I'm going to make her watch as I transmute all of this shit into useless scraps of metal and then I'm going to kill her."

Al began to worry.

His brother's words sounded like a genuine threat rather than his usual violent whining. He was really angry and poor Winry, who had done nothing wrong, was the target of the state alchemist's rage.

"Ed, just calm down!" Al requested, his voice squeaking.

"This is bullshit, Al! The only reason Winry ever comes to see us in East City is to spend _my_ money on a bunch of automail _crap_ and then she just takes off without a 'thank you' or 'nice to have seen you guys'. She's fucking heartless!"

"That's not true!" Al retorted fiercely.

"Yes it is!" Ed roared. "She says she takes the train all the way here to visit us because she's concerned, and what does she do every single time? She drags us to the Cornerstone and just shops the whole damn time and then she leaves. She doesn't care about visiting us, we're just a convenient excuse! If I didn't have a small fortune for her to spend, Winry could care less about coming to see us!"

"Ed, take a deep breath and stop for a minute." Al stated. "If you're mad because Winry's not spending any time with us, then just tell her."

"That's not why I'm mad!" Ed argued, his insane ranting and dangerous gesturing actually discouraging the shopping crowd from coming anywhere near the petite teenager. Al bravely approached his brother, the elder Elric huffing and puffing, his face pink and his brow crinkled as he tried to calm himself.

Ed's body was shaking as he tried to rein some control over his temper. He had always had a hair-trigger disposition, but lately it seemed, Ed was always mad for reasons he couldn't even begin to explain. Biologically, Ed knew that his chemical make-up was shifting, his body changing and his mind maturing as he took those first steps towards physical adulthood. However, all of the prodigy's reading hadn't said anything about these constantly shifting mood-swings. And it wasn't that Ed was particularly irritable on a daily basis, only when he was around Winry.

It was infuriating!

Normally, the scientist that resided within the youngest state alchemist would step back and properly examine the situation, reaching a logical conclusion based on observation and experimentation. Ed, however, was in no mood to be logical. He was angry with his best friend's indifference, he was starving, he was sore and he was starting to get claustrophobic in the ever expanding crowd of afternoon shoppers.

Gritting his teeth, Ed hoisted himself up a few feet on the drainpipe of a formal dress shop so that he could easily scan among the people, his golden eyes hard and determined as they sought out the elusive crown of lemon blond hair.

Her earrings are what eventually revealed her location, the sunshine reflecting off the shiny surface of the jewelry he had bought for her almost eight months ago. Smiling maliciously, Ed hopped down from the drainpipe and stomped towards Winry, leaving Al behind to pick up all of the parcels and follow.

"Selfish, inconsiderate, un-cute, bratty, pain in the ass…" Ed grumbled as he literally pushed people out of his way as he marched towards Winry. She had yet to notice Ed, her nose practically pressed up against the display window of another shop, her blue eyes wide and transfixed on whatever object rested peacefully beyond the glass.

If she thought he was going to buy her another wrench, or screwdriver, or a book of metal swatches, the girl was in for a big surprise. He made a great deal of noise as he approached his infuriating friend, but she still did not acknowledge him, likely unable to hear his heavy footsteps and huffing breath over the jostling sounds of the other shoppers.

He stopped at her side, glaring at her as if his sight could bore through her skull.

She still didn't pay him any mind.

Steam was very nearly spewing from Ed's ears as he realized that Winry was more engaged with the window display than him. He didn't understand how the girl could care more about tools than about a living breathing human being, and he was going to tell her so, regardless of the likelihood that they'd end up in a huge fight that would leave him with a swelling bump on his head and Winry declaring her unending hate for him before boarding on the next train back to Resembool.

At this point, Ed didn't care.

He raised his gloved hand and placed it on her shoulder.

"Brother, wait!" Al begged, catching up to the pair, bags and boxes hanging off of every available appendage on his armor body.

Winry jumped a little at Ed's touch, startled out of her daydream. She turned to address the two brothers and Ed froze.

Her eyes were fairly glistening with unshed tears, and the few wet trails that trekked down her chubby cheeks revealed that some of those tears had escaped. Her smile was sad and longing and under Ed's hand, the teenager could feel her shivering.

And just like a snowflake once it hits warm human skin, Ed's anger evaporated, dissipating into the air as if it had never existed, leaving him to face this sad girl.

"Winry, what's wrong?" Al asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, guys." Winry assured, her voice just above a whisper, but not wet or trembling.

"You're not fine." Ed commented, squeezing her shoulder. "What is it?"

"Nothing. I just…"

She didn't finish her sentence, instead turning back towards the window display. Ed and Al followed suit, Ed snorting as he expected to see a new top-of-the-line model piston set that Winry was about to beg him to buy.

He was stunned into silence when he saw nothing shiny or pointy or even metallic. Instead, the two Elric brothers found themselves admiring a pair of red satin slippers placed delicately on a black velvet cushion, their crimson veneer alluring and mysterious.

They were so small and feminine, a perfect crimson bow sitting atop the toe area, the black leather soles shiny and polished. They were dainty and cute and so not in Winry's taste that Ed was taken aback. What would Winry Rockbell, the noted grease-monkey, be doing staring at a pair of women's satin slippers?

"They're very pretty." Al said softly. "Do you like them, Winry?"

Winry didn't answer Al for a long moment, seemingly trying to collect herself, her jaw quivering just before she began to speak.

"My mother had a pair of slippers, just like those. I remember her wearing them around the house all the time, dancing with me or dad, or cooking, or cleaning, or having coffee with Grandma…" Winry's sad little smile appeared again as her mind played those fond memories like a movie deep in her subconscious. "I used to sneak into mom's closet and wear those shoes all around the house, dressed in her clothes and big hats. I always felt like a real princess in them…funny, I never really thought about those slippers until I saw this pair."

"Do you still have your mother's slippers?" Al asked quietly.

"Den chewed them to pieces when she was still just a puppy. I remember mom cried the whole day over them and Den was made to stay outside for a week as punishment…mom and dad left for Ishbal three months after that."

The three friends remained quiet for a moment, all of them staring at the red slippers in the window display as if they held all of the answers to their lost past. In a far reaching corner of his memory, Ed believed he could recall seeing Winry in those red shoes, a large straw sunhat on her head and a string of pearls around her neck as she forced him to participate in a tea party with her teddy bear.

Sighing heavily, Ed turned away from the window, breaking the spell the red slippers had cast over the three friends, and moved to open the door to the shop.

"What?" Winry asked as Ed stared at her expectantly. He was holding the door open for her, giving her an annoyed, expectant stare.

"Go buy them." Ed ordered, turning away from her to stare off into the thick of the shopping crowd. "I know you want to, so go buy them and charge it to my account."

"Ed…" Winry said, smiling brightly, the sadness that had been etched on her face now gone at the sight of her friends' thoughtfulness. "I'm not going to get them."

"Yes you are." Ed argued. "Go in and take them."

"Have you seen the price of those slippers? Ed, that's pure Xingese satin. Those shoes are the price of a small automobile." Winry stated. "It's too much."

"You don't have a problem spending my money on your stupid automail tools, so why the fuss over a pair of slippers?!" Ed demanded, closing the shop door and doing his best to keep his temper down.

He just didn't understand this girl! He was being nice, nicer than he had been in ages, and she was throwing his offer to buy a pair of slippers she obviously wanted back in his face! No wonder they always fought, she lived to drive him mad!

"I happen to _need_ those stupid automail tools!" Winry bellowed back. "Without those, how do you expect me to maintain your arm and leg?! You've already broken your arm twice and your leg four times. You've only been a state alchemist for a year and you've fallen apart more times than any other automail patient I've ever seen. If I don't have _all_ of those tools, I'll never be able to keep up with you. And it's only fair that you buy them for me since you're always breaking my masterpieces!"

"Just buy the damn slippers!" Ed roared.

"No! I don't _need_ them!" Winry roared back. "Come on, Al, let's go back to the hotel."

Turning away from the older Elric, Winry stormed off, Al close behind her. Ed stayed back, watching his brother and his friend walk away, a serious look on his face as he turned to look at the red satin slippers that had been the cause of yet another fight with Winry Rockbell.

* * *

"Take care, Winry." Al said, leaning his large frame through the open window so that he could hug his friend one last time. "Tell Granny Ed and I say 'hello'."

"I will. Tell Ed he'd better take care of his automail." Winry warned.

"Brother was sorry he couldn't come to see you off, Winry. He got called into an urgent meeting by Colonel Mustang."

"Sure." Winry said sadly, not really believing that Ed had a meeting, but suspecting that he the hot-headed teenager didn't want to talk to her after their spat in the Cornerstone the previous afternoon. He often gave her the cold shoulder after one of their arguments.

Still, it hurt that he hadn't come to see her off.

"Here, Winry." Al said, inconspicuously retrieving a crudely wrapped parcel from inside of his hollow body and slipping it onto Winry's lap.

"What's this?" Winry wondered.

"Just open it and read the card." Al requested, his voice muffled by the train's shrill whistle.

"What was that?" Winry asked, leaning out the window as the train began to slowly chug forward. Al only took a few large steps to keep up with the moving cart before stopping on the platform and waving. Winry waved back until she could no longer see the hefty suit of armor, collapsing into her seat, the weight of the mysterious parcel as it rested on her lap a warm comfort. She suspected Al had purchased her a lunch to spare her the somewhat unsavory train food and decided that she would have to call him when she got home to thank him.

Pulling back the brown paper, Winry stifled a gasp when shiny red satin greeted her. The red slippers, so much like her mother's, were suddenly before her almost as if it were a dream. She reverently ran her fingertips along the cool material of the shoe, shaking as she traced the little bows and nearly sobbing when she discovered the card Al had told her about, sitting comfortably inside the left slipper.

It wasn't Al's neat twirling script, which Winry had half expected. Instead, the sharp, blunt handwriting that marked the hard white card belonged to Edward. Blinking back tears, Winry focused on Ed's writing, her fingers still trailing along the red slippers.

_'Winry, I don't just buy you the things you need. I can give you the things you want, too. So take them and don't argue._

_Ed'_

Winry laughed. Of course, only Ed could manage an act so incredibly thoughtful yet ruin the gesture by being his usual obnoxious self. Tucking the card back into the left slipper and making a note to put it in her album of memories, Winry held on to the red satin shoes, stroking them as if they were a cuddly cat, and idly daydreaming of the day she might wear them and dance with her husband wearing the pretty little slippers.

She didn't question her thoughts when her fantasy future husband had a long golden ponytail and an automail arm and leg.

* * *

_Another drabble down. _

_I really like this little story, especially since it's at that transition age when boys and girls would finally start to notice each other as the opposite sex, but not know how to process that information. Ed, of course, deals with it the way he deals with most things, by getting royally pissed off and making a mess of the situation. I also like to play with the more feminine side of Winry, and a pair of red slippers seemed to do the trick. _

_So, I hope everyone liked this._

_Please, leave a review and let me know your thoughts and opinions. No flames, please and thank you!_

**Giant Nickel **


	4. Innocence

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, but maybe someday, if I close my eyes and cross my fingers and wish really, really, really, really hard, then I just might…yeah, right._

**A/N:** _There isn't much that I have to say about this fic only to warn you that there is a discussion about the differences between boys and girls and yes, the word 'penis' is said. However, I don't think it should leave anyone blushing. After all, don't you remember the first time you learned that there was a fundamental physical difference between boys and girls?_

_I know I do. _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**Innocence**

"Winry! Ed! Al! Bath time!" Trisha called. She gladly placed the empty bucket down at her feet, her arms aching because she had been carrying it between the stove and aluminum washbasin several times, careful not to slosh warm soapy water all over her floor. Normally, bath time would be taking place in the upstairs bathroom, but thanks to the mischievous experiments of her little alchemists, there was no longer a tub in the pretty tiled room.

Earlier that morning Ed and Al had decided to alchemize the porcelain tub into a rather crude, but certainly functional, clay fort for them to play in. While Trisha had been angry, especially when her sons reluctantly admitted that they weren't too sure how to transmute the tub back into its original form, she couldn't be cross with them for very long. After all, the only reason they had made the fort was in order to make Winry a proper princess, and all princesses needed a great fortress where her noble knights could protect her.

Children really could be too cute.

However, as it was, Trisha Elric had three tots in her home in desperate need of a bath before bedtime, but no tub. So, the young mother had improvised and filled her washbasin with water, deciding that she would bathe all three at once in the middle of her dinning room.

Winry was the first to barge into the room, struggling to pull her dress over her head, her socks already lost somewhere in the house. The young Rockbell girl was spending the next month with the Elrics, her parents and grandmother having left for Rush Valley to participate in the grand opening of a new, automail focused hospital and the ensuing celebrations. Trisha adored having the girl and the boys also seemed to be pleased that their friend would get to spend a good portion of the summer with them.

And speaking of the boys…

Winry had her back to the archway when Ed and Al entered the room. Both boys were already stripped of their clothing and sunk into the warm bath water before Trisha picked Winry up and placed her into the tub with Ed and Al.

"Do you want your ducky, Ed?" Trisha asked her eldest. The boy nodded and Trisha patted him on the head before making her way out of the room to collect the bath toys.

"My turtle, too, Mommy!" Al requested just before the flutter of Trisha's apron strings disappeared beyond the archway. The Elric brothers reclined in the comfortably warm soapy water, their skin taking on a healthy pink glow brought on by a good day of activity and the balmy water.

"I gots more bubbles." Winry boasted, having piled a vast amount of suds on her head like a frothy crown.

"You look like Granny." Ed teased, splashing both Winry and his brother as they all laughed.

"I got a beard. Look!" Al said, burying his chin into the soapy water and emerging with a runny white beard of bubbles. "Now Ed's got no bubbles."

"I do too!" the elder Elric declared, hating to be left out of anything. If Winry and Alphonse were going to start collecting bubbles then he was going to amass his own horde of suds, and he would be sure to have the most.

The silent challenge issued, all three tots began to scoop their arms along the water's surface, capturing all of the bubbles and suds and cloaking their bodies with them until there wasn't a single one left to be had.

Surprisingly, Ed actually won.

"Yeah!" the five year old cried victoriously, standing up in the tub, water sloshing onto the wood floor. His arms were raised proudly over his head and all of the bubbles he had so viciously collected slid down his body to pool in the water around his knees. "I won! I'm the best!" Ed declared, looking down at the other two, expecting to stare into awe-filled, adoring expressions.

Al was blinking up at his brother, thoroughly shocked that Ed had bested him in a challenge. Ed stuck his tongue out at Al and looked down at Winry who was staring up at him with such large, transfixed blue eyes, that some of Ed's bravado began to slink away.

She was frozen, too focused on staring at Ed to even bat away the long trail of runny suds that were slinking down the side of her face and dripping off of her chin. Her eyes, as blue as the sky at the height of summer, were making Ed uncomfortable, staring with quizzical concentration right between his legs.

Ed lowered his arms, completely confused.

"Auntie Trisha!" Winry yelled, her eyes finally breaking away from him. She leaned over the edge of the washbasin, her chubby fingers digging into the edge of the tub. "Auntie Trisha you gotta come quick!" Winry called again, concern coloring her young voice. "Ed's gots a tail. And it's on backwards!"

"What?!" Ed cried, his face turning a deep crimson as he dropped to his knees and submerged himself into the water up to his chest.

"Where's a tail?" Al asked, trying to peer through the water and discover his older brother's newly acquired appendage.

"I ain't got a tail!" Ed hollered, pressing his back up against the tub and shooting his brother a filthy glare. "Don't lie, Winry. Don't tell my mom I got a tail when I don't!" he commanded.

"You do, too! I saw it." Winry insisted. "It's 'tween your legs."

"It's not a tail!" Ed roared, his small voice sounding lethal as he slammed his fists against the water and protectively cupped himself from Winry's analytical stare. His movements caused a splash of soapy water to land in Al's eye, promptly making the four year old cry.

That was the scene Trisha walked into, Ed blushing madly as he and Winry barked at each other and Al crying, rubbing his stinging right eye. Placing the bucket of bath toys, which included the wooden duck and turtle that were her sons' favorites, on the counter, Trisha made her way to the trio and knelt down next to the basin.

"Edward Van Elric and Winry Sarah Rockbell!" Trisha chided as she cuddled her youngest son, using her apron to dab at his injured eye.

The two five year olds immediately ceased their squabbling knowing that when an adult addressed them by their full names that they were on the cliff's edge of deep trouble. They retreated to their own ends of the washbasin shooting each other disdainful looks, Winry's arms crossed around her knees and Ed's firmly covering the 'tail' between his legs.

Al's sobbing soon stopped, the soap lodged in his eye having been washed away with his tears and his mother's gentle touch. Once her youngest was calmed, Trisha turned her attention back to the two sulking children.

"Now, what's the matter here? I heard you both yelling about a tail?"

"I saw Ed's tail!" Winry declared, pointing an accusing finger at her friend.

"It's not a tail, it's a penis!" Ed said through grit teeth.

"You got it on backwards." Winry insisted.

"No! That's where it's 'upposed to be." Ed snarled.

"Well, what's it for?" Winry asked snobbishly.

"Don't be a dummy! You use yours for the same thing." Ed shouted, tears of embarrassed frustration nearly spilling out of his eyes.

"I don't got one!" Winry announced.

"Now _you're_ lying!" Ed yelled.

"Look!"

And before Trisha could put a stop to the angry and confused discussion, Winry stood up in the tub to show Ed that there was no penis to be had anywhere on her body. Ed looked at her for a moment, a baffled expression on his face before he narrowed his sharp golden eyes and snorted.

"So did it fall off or something?" he asked.

"No!" Winry snapped, falling back into the water. "I never had one. Girls don't have a penis."

"Is that true, Mommy?" Al asked, turning to look at his mother. Trisha stuttered as she found herself the focus of three pairs of eager and determined eyes, each one expecting her to explain the conundrum of the differences between their bodies.

She had been hoping they might be a little older before having to get into a discussion about basic human anatomy, but as the boys and Winry hadn't bathed together since they were still in nappies, it should have been obvious to her that, at five and four, they would be curious and want some answers.

She sighed.

"Ed, Al, Winry," she started, "boys and girls are made different. Boys have penises and girls don't."

"But why, Mom?" Ed asked in his demanding tone, much in the same way he angrily muttered at an alchemy book when he didn't fully understand what he was reading.

"Because how would you tell the difference between boys and girls?" Trisha answered with a gentle smile.

"So…so boys gets a penis and girls don't and then mommies and daddies know what's a boy and what's a girl?" Al asked, simplifying the explanation as only a child could.

"But that's stupid!" Ed insisted.

"No it's not." Trisha amended, stroking her eldest's face. "Boys and girls are just supposed to be that way. It's very important."

"Don't make sense." Ed grumbled.

"One day you'll understand, sweetheart." Trisha assured.

"So…my penis didn't fall off?" Winry checked shyly, pulling on her wet hair.

"It didn't. You never had one, Winry."

"And that's OK? Cuz I'm not 'upposed to have one?"

"That's right."

"What does Winry have, then?" Ed asked, scrutinizing his friend with the eyes of an alchemist. They were eyes that studied and observed and mentally broke things down before building them back up again. One day, those eyes wouldn't be so wide and innocent. One day, those eyes would grow with age and wisdom and become the eyes of a man…

And maybe, one day, those innocent eyes wouldn't look at Winry as if she was some strange, fascinating discovery.

Or maybe they would.

"That's a secret." Trisha responded.

"But Mom…"

"Ed, you are too young for me to tell you." Trisha answered, making her way to the bucket of toys and then handing them to the children.

"Aw! That's not fair! How long before I'm not too young?"

"A long time." Trisha promised. "But, maybe when your father comes back he'll tell you."

Trisha had meant for the reassurance of her husband's homecoming to be a comfort for her oldest son, but if anything, it only served to make the five year old sullen and quiet for the rest of bath time. The children were dressed in their pajamas and told to get ready for bed, giving Trisha enough time to clean up the washbasin and sudsy mess on her floor before going up to read them a story. The tail incident seemed to have been washed away along with the dirt under the children's fingernails, Al and Winry laughing and singing as they made their way upstairs, the awkward moment forgotten. Ed, however, remained quiet, his eyes downcast and his mouth twisted into a small frown.

It bothered Trisha that Ed, always so vivacious and full of energy and so very, very intelligent, was troubled greatly by his father's absence. Van had never been a man to fully interact with his children, his own feelings of self-loathing and uncertainty depraving him of basking in his sons' presence and simply enjoying them. Trisha hadn't even been fully aware of the relationship forged between Van and Ed, but surely it must have had some strength and importance for Ed to always get so angry whenever he was mentioned.

Perhaps some of Ed's innocence was already gone, having walked out of the door with his father…

Making her way upstairs and down the hall towards Ed and Al's bedroom, Trisha was about to walk into the room and ask the kids which story they would like to hear when Winry's little voice, so quiet and sad, reached her ears and Trisha stopped just outside of the door to listen.

"…mad at me cuz I'm different?" Winry wondered shyly.

"No, don't be stupid." Ed muttered. "That'd be a dumb reason to be mad."

"I'm sorry Auntie Trisha wouldn't tell you the secret. If I knew what it was, I'd tell you."

"It's OK." Ed insisted.

"Know what?" Winry announced and Trisha peeked into the bedroom, spotting Alphonse already fast asleep on his side of the bed while Ed and Winry sat up against the headboard and whispered.

Winry was holding out her pinky finger and made Ed link his own pinky with hers. "Auntie Trisha said we couldn't know everything about the differences because we're too young. Well, someday we're gonna grow up and I promise that when I grow up and learn the secret I'll tell you, and if you learn the secret first then you tell me."

"OK." Ed conceded, blushing as Winry gave his pinky finger a firm squeeze and shake before settling in the bed and waiting for Trisha to come in with a storybook. Trisha didn't miss Winry's obliviousness to Ed's focused stare nor did she ignore her son's blush or the way he flexed the pinky Winry had made her oath on.

A pinky swear to one day inform each other on why it was the boys and girls were made physically different. It was the most sacred of promises to a child and from the look on Ed and Winry's faces, both were determined to keep this pledge. It was a simple bond, unbreakable and unquestionable and nevermind what the pinky swear was actually about, it was something that was important to the two five year olds and it made Trisha wish that life could always be so certain...that life could always be viewed as black and white...that when they finally did grow up and learn about the secret of boys and girls they wouldn't let it change their bond...that they would still make promises to each other and keep them.

Trisha chuckled.

She wished for them to stay that innocent forever.

* * *

_OK, so looking back on this, I realize that how I wanted this story to turn out didn't happen and to be honest, I really have no idea where this came from. At first I had intended to do a piece about Ed and Winry discovering that boys and girls were different from each other. It was going to be a humorous piece and not venture so much into the dramatic or angsty areas, but there are tinges of both in this fic. What ended up happening was I began to write from Trisha's perspective, and really, whenever I even think of Trisha I just get all melancholy because, seriously, she is so sympathetic a character that I always want to reach out and give her a great big hug. _

_So, anyway, I'm not super over-the-moon thrilled with this fic, but I like it. _

_A few notes:_

_1. Hohenheim's full name is __Theophratus Bombastus Van Hohenheim and as I was writing I realized that Trisha probably doesn't call him by his surname like everyone else. She likely called him Van or even Theo. I went with Van._

_2. The artwork that originally inspired this fic can be found at aquaspirits. The artist's name is Len and she has a deviantart account as well. Just be forewarned, most of her work is for mature viewers. That being said, she draws some of the best EdxWin on the net and her doujinshi are stunning!_

_And I think that's about all. _

_I hope you enjoyed the fic. By all means, leave a review and let me know. No flames, please and thank you!_

**Giant Nickel **


	5. Spring

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist._

**A/N:**_ OK, so here it is: the next theme. I know it's been a while. I had promised myself that I was going to try my darnedest to get a oneshot added to this collection every week without fail. So, um…yeah, I failed (throws arm over eyes and wanders off to wallow in shame). And not that this is any excuse, but even though I haven't posted the fics, I have outlined and written one for every week I've missed so far, it's just a matter of typing, editing and posting. I'm also slaving over the next chapter of _Don't Forget_ and, once again, Ed and Winry just refuse to co-operate with me. They can be so difficult, which, in the case of this fic, is actually not so bad. _

_So, enjoy!_

* * *

**Spring**

"This is amazing! Look! Look there! Do you see how those tension spokes and metal bars support the wheel? And underneath that wooden platform is this amazing motor. That's what makes the whole thing rotate. The operator controls everything with a few simple levers and if you're lucky, you'll end up right at the very top, just suspended there in the sky. Martin Stonehouse asked Lizzy Cross to marry him when they were stopped at the top last night."

"Martin Stonehouse?" Ed asked with great surprise. "Clare's older brother? The stumpy fat guy with bad acne and buck teeth?"

"For your information," Winry barked, hitting Ed for his insensitive comments, "Martin is now twenty-one years old, he's nothing but muscle from working on his father's farm, his acne has cleared up completely and he's over six feet tall."

"And his buck teeth?" Ed growled, proud that he had managed to maintain some calm when Winry threw Martin's towering height into her glowing appraisal.

"He's too cute to bother noticing his teeth." Winry answered casually with an easy flip of her wrist. "You'd know that if you came home more often."

"I would _never_ find Martin cute." Ed muttered as he sulked over the way Winry gushed about the radiant qualities of Martin Stonehouse, including his impressive height.

He'd rather listen to her babble about the Ferris wheel again.

Sighing, Ed dragged his feet alongside Winry as the two teens wandered the fairgrounds of Resembool's Spring Sheep Festival. Every year, on the second weekend in May, the residents of the small eastern village closed all of their shops and businesses and gathered in the valley at the foot of the violet colored mountains and set up tents, booths, pens and corrals in order to celebrate sheep shearing time. This year a midway had come to Resembool for the first time, bringing with it a variety of acts including trapeze artists, contortionists, fortune-seeking alchemists and a family of trained lions that jumped through hoops and balanced on large rubber balls. The midway had also brought a Ferris wheel and hot air balloon, both of which were technological wonders that the people of Resembool had never seen.

Had Ed not traveled nearly all across the eastern sectors of Amestirs, he might be just as wide-eyed and awe-struck at the wheel and balloon like everyone else.

Edward Elric had just turned fifteen years old.

He was still a State Alchemist, still looking for the Philosopher's Stone, and he was still finding new and frustrating ways to break his automail. This time it was sludge, caught in both his arm and leg mechanisms, that had brought Ed and his brother back to their quiet mountain town. Winry, of course, had been a raging inferno, beating Ed over the head with her wrench as he desperately tried to tell her that he'd got caught in an oil spill at a rig he'd been investigating on military orders. Winry, however, told Ed and Al (who had sludge caked in the joints of his armor body) that their excuses for not taking care of themselves were always lame and exhausting. The brothers had been visibly chagrined by Winry's reprimands and so the mechanic had told the boys that they could make things up to her by staying for the Spring Sheep Festival.

"Aren't you having fun, Ed?" Winry wondered, looking with concerned cornflower blue eyes at her companion.

"Sure." Ed said, raising his head to peruse the crowd. "I don't remember Resembool even having this many people." he commented.

"Well, what did you expect?" Winry wondered. "You were gone this time for almost a year. Did you think things would just stay the same forever?"

Winry didn't ask her question rudely or with bitterness. It was merely an innocent query, yet the words weighed on Ed and fueled his guilty conscience.

He hadn't seen Winry or contacted her for over eight months. That was the longest the elder Elric had ever gone without a word to his mechanic. It wasn't that he'd forgotten her…he was just preoccupied with his search for the Stone. He'd been hoping the next time he returned to Resembool it would be whole, with a flesh and blood arm and leg and Al back in his human body, the way things used to be. And it wasn't that he believed Resembool would _never_ change, but there were some things that he expected would _always_ stay the same.

Like the Spring Sheep Festival. It would always be held on the second weekend of May, just as it had been since Ed was a baby.

And the town itself.

The train platform would always be a fifteen minute walk from the hub of Resembool, and the ice cream parlor would always serve their sundaes with a cherry and whip cream, and the books in the local bookstore would always be overpriced, and the schoolmarm would always be boring to listen to and the harvest would always be at the end of October, and the orchards would always grow apples, and the valley would always be green, the mountains always violet, and the river always clear…

Den would always bark happily upon the arrival of the Elric brothers, her tail waging as she rushed down the dirt path to greet them.

Old lady Pinako would always be sucking on a pipe, the sweet smell of her favorite tobacco lazily wafting through the rooms of the yellow house.

And Winry…

Ed glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and blushed.

Of all the things that were _never_ supposed to change, Winry Rockbell was the most important of all. She was always supposed to be willowy rake of a girl with a mouth too big for her head and an ego to match. She was never supposed to suddenly shot up like a beanstalk, now towering over him by a lofty five inches. She was never supposed to lose her baby fat and suddenly have a woman's rounded chin, graceful neck and sculpted cheekbones. Her hair, once worn in pigtails and as dry and fragile as hay was now a thick lustrous curtain of sunshine which she often chose to wear up in a ponytail. Arms threaded with hidden muscles and legs that went on forever had replaced the gangly appendages of her pre-adolescence. Hips rounded out her lithe figure and drew one's attention to her astoundingly attractive rear end which Ed most definitely _did not_ peek at once or twice over the course of his visit.

And then there were her breasts.

Ed gulped thickly as he recalled the hours it had taken for Winry to dig the sludge out of his automail. She'd been bent over him in every which way, her cheeks pink, her breath warm, her hands firm, and those breasts that had magically sprung up in his eight month absence pushing distractingly against a pathetic black piece of cloth that Winry actually expected him to believe was some sort of top.

Even now, though Winry was covered in a light pink sweater and jeans, Ed couldn't quite seem to help but notice just how much she had changed. Fifteen was turning out to be a great age on Winry and it made Ed's face heat up when he began to wonder what she might look like at sixteen or eighteen or twenty-one.

For a boy whose head had always been brimming with scientific knowledge and near obsessive curiosity in alchemy, these sudden, unpredictable and even slightly unwanted thoughts about the womanly curves of Winry Rockbell made Ed acutely uncomfortable.

He was uncomfortable with how Winry made him feel, and how he was always looking at her, and how he sort of liked that skimpy black top she'd worn during his sludge clean-up almost as much as he liked the jeans she was currently wearing and how they hugged her hips and rear end distractingly. He was uncomfortable with how he was always thinking about how uncomfortable he was thinking about her!

Had she noticed how much he'd changed, too? Had she noted his shoulders were broader? His voice deeper? His alchemy was better, too, and he had seen nearly all of the eastern quarter of the country. That was impressive…

Did she notice he'd grown at least an inch since they were last together?

"So, Edo, any luck on your search?" Winry asked. "Have you found that Stone yet?"

"No, but I've been hearing some rumors about this place called Lior. Al and I have to go back to Central tomorrow and we'll see if we can learn anything more before deciding if it's worth taking the trip out there." Ed answered, being vague yet giving Winry an answer at the same time. He kicked a pebble out of his path when his stomach let loose such a thunderous rumble that a baby in a nearby pram began to cry for being disturbed from its nap.

"Hungry?" Winry teased.

"Starving." Ed confessed, rubbing his belly. "Isn't there a barbeque around here?"

"Ed, do you ever wonder why you're always so hungry?" Winry asked.

"It's normal." Ed scoffed. "I am a growing boy."

"But you never gain any weight and you eat a ton of food."

"Fast metabolism. So what?"

"Fine, whatever." Winry said, not wanting to get into an argument. She and Ed continued to walk along for a while, bumping into old friends Ed hadn't seen in years, waving at Al who was enjoying himself in the sheep coral where he had been left in charge of the lambs, watching an arm wrestling competition and losing pathetically at a game of ring toss. All the while, Ed's belly roared, protesting its lack of fulfillment, but Ed was being stubborn.

"You're never this picky." Winry said as they made their way towards a large tent reserved for all manner of festival competitions. "You don't want corndogs, or popcorn, or candy floss, or crackerjacks, or…"

"It's all junk." Ed griped. "I want food."

"Well…" Winry stated, her eyes drifting towards a blackboard that announced the upcoming challenge that was to take place in the large tent. "Look! A pie eating contest!"

"No."

"Ed, it's either this or go home and make yourself something because I'm fed up of listening to your stomach." Winry demanded, crossing her arms.

It made her breast press together.

Turning away viciously, his nose hot with a blush, Ed grumbled.

"Fine, fine, but I want to know what kind of pie it is first."

"Great!"

Taking his hand, and assuming his dragging feet had to do with his sour reluctance and not how shocked he was to find his fingers entwined with hers, Winry brought Ed up to the platform at the far end of the tent.

"Excuse me, could you – oh, Martin!" Winry gushed, releasing Ed's hand. The State Alchemist peered over Winry's shoulder, his features creased and frowning as he found himself looking at the buck toothed Martin Stonehouse.

How could Winry not notice those lethal weapons? No one could ever be that cute! Sure his skin was perfectly clear, a masculine shadow of whiskers darkening his jaw and chin and he was strikingly tall and had wavy dark hair that was soft looking and tangle free and his shoulders were broad, waist trim and legs muscular, but that wasn't anything special!

What did Winry see in this guy?

"…are you, Edward?" Martin asked.

"Fine." Ed said, stepping in front of Winry and puffing out his chest. "How are 'ya, Martin?" Ed held out his hand – his right hand – in a polite gesture before proceeding to squeeze Martin's fingers painfully when the farmer was foolish enough to shake his hand. Martin never cried out, though he did clench his jaw and flashed Ed a curious glance. When they released hands, Martin shook out his fingers and Ed smirked.

"So, are you one of the judges for the contest?" Winry asked, her blue eyes going wide and sparkly.

"No. I'm going to compete. I used to enter this contest all the time as a kid, won a few times, too."

"Well, you were a bit of porker back then, eh, Martin?" Ed said crassly, laughing at his genius insult as he patted the twenty-one year old on the back. Not caring that Winry or Martin weren't laughing with him, Ed took a deep breath and whipped off his red coat, his automail catching a ray of sunlight and gleaming in the tent.

"Your arm looks good, Ed. Just as strong and well-crafted as ever." Martin remarked, throwing Winry a complimentary glance. "I saw Alphonse by the sheep coral, too. He's still walking around in that suit of armor, poor guy."

Ed's features darkened.

Four years ago, after that night, Ed and Al knew they couldn't let the truth of their sinful alchemy be discovered. However, Ed was missing an arm and leg and Al was trapped in an iron body and people talked, especially in towns as small as Resembool. So, Granny and Winry had concocted a story of a horrific tractor accident which left Ed crippled and Alphonse so badly scarred that he chose to wear the armor. The lie was quickly accepted as truth and the boys were pitied for a long time until Ed's reputation as a State Alchemist began to spread. Now, the Elric brothers were praised as two of Resembool's finest citizens, though they would still occasionally get those disgusting, pitiful looks like the one Martin was giving him currently.

Ed threw his jacket at Winry, his automail arm – her creation – glowing against his flesh as he marched up the steps onto the platform and took a seat. He looked over at Martin with a bored expression, but the challenge was clearly projecting from his hard golden eyes.

The buck toothed 'cutie' was going to pay.

Ed didn't want Martin's pity and he especially didn't want Winry to keep fawning over the idiot.

Martin continued to smile placating at Ed as he joined the fifteen year old and a handful of others on the platform and took a seat before a long table. People were quickly shuffling into the tent, seeking a spot to sit along the long, narrow benches or finding a placed to stand. The pie eating contest was always fairly popular at the festival and Ed relished the large audience.

He would show Martin Stonehouse that he didn't need his insulting pity.

The town mayor entered the tent and made a short speech, introducing all of the participants as well as the locals who had donated pies to the contest. Then, amid an uproarious applause, the pies were brought out and placed before each person sitting at the table.

"Now here are the rules: You must keep your hands behind your back. You must finish the whole pie. Should you become sick, you will be eliminated. You will have no help chewing…"

Ed tuned out the mayor's recitation of the contest's rules, having been to enough of these eating challenges to know what he could and couldn't do. Instead, he glowered at Martin who seemed to be disgustingly preoccupied with making googly eyes and kissy faces to his fiancée who was sitting in the front row. Ed thought he'd puke at the scene, revolted by the way Martin nearly swooned over the girl. And there was Lizzy Cross, who had always been one of the prettiest girls in Resembool, and she was looking just as foolish as the besotted Martin, blowing him kisses and waving and blushing and giggling.

Turning away, Ed stole a quick glance at Winry.

She was standing near the platform, arms crossed, his red coat tucked against her left elbow, and when she caught him looking at her she rolled her eyes at him and stuck her tongue out. Ed bristled at her gesture and copied it before turning away from the mechanic, certain he could hear her laughing at him.

What had he expected? That she would blush and giggle and wave at him? The thought of Winry acting even remotely femininely flirty was infallible! Winry just wasn't the type.

And she wasn't cute or sexy, either.

Looking down at the pie that had been placed before him, Ed took a deep breath. His senses were filled with the smell of apples and cinnamon and his belly groaned so loudly that the crowd started to chuckle and some of the work hands began to take bets that 'the puny Elric kid' would win. Ed turned red and made a mental note to extract his revenge on those men after the contest.

"Alright contestants! Hands behind your back…and go!

Ed dug into the apple pie with purposeful vigor, attacking it with the same single-minded aggressiveness he used when he and Al sparred. When Ed and his little brother dueled, Ed always fought like he had never lost to Alphonse, with a confidence that clearly stated he was going to win. It was bullheaded determination, as Alphonse would say, and it had served Ed well over the course of his life.

And since the apple pie wasn't an eight foot towering iron suit of armor, it really didn't stand a chance.

In a record breaking three minutes and nineteen seconds, Edward Elric had practically inhaled the apple pie that had been placed before him, nothing but an empty tin left in his wake. Leaning back in his chair, Ed smacked his lips, rubbed his belly and flashed the audience a self-satisfied smirk.

The crowd cheered, thoroughly enjoying the show Ed had put on. The other contestants lifted their faces from their pies, some annoyed that they had lost, some throwing the fifteen year old a congratulatory nod and others looking exhausted and glad to be done with the whole event.

Taking his first place blue ribbon with pride, Ed moved to gloat of his success to Martin Stonehouse when he spotted the man, already having left the platform, standing with his fiancée. Lizzy was wiping the berries and juice off of Martin's face when he leaned forward and tried to kiss her. Lizzy squealed and dodged Martin's lips, but he caught her around the waist and proceeded to kiss her all over her face, leaving traces of berry juice on her cheeks and nose.

"Here."

Looking to his left, Ed spotted Winry holding out his coat to him.

"Are you proud of yourself, now? Done sulking?"

"I won." Ed stated cheekily.

"I know, I saw." Winry answered. "Did you even chew that pie? Were you that desperate to show Martin up, or were you really just that hungry? You're a mess! Look, you've got syrup and crumbs all over your face. Ugh! You're such a pig. Ed?"

Winry stopped her tirade when she noticed the menacing look Ed was giving her. She gulped, all of a sudden aware of her friend's strong presence and how all of his focus was on her.

This couldn't be good.

"I'll get you a towel."

"Hey, Win."

She really didn't have a chance to respond before Ed caught her around the shoulders and pulled her back. She moved to throw him a dirty look and tell him off, but stilled when syrupy sweet, cinnamon coated lips smashed against hers. Eyes wide, body stiff and lips not moving, Winry tried desperately to comprehend the fact that Edward Elric was kissing her under the competition tent at the Spring Sheep Festival in front of half of Resembool.

For a moment, Winry's mind seemed to detach itself entirely from her body, floating above her like a strange cloud and leaving her in a suspended reality. She began to think of how sticky the syrup was against her skin, and how some people in the crowd began to whistle, and how Nelly had been right, time did freeze when you had your very first kiss!

Her eyes were open, looking back at Ed who also had his eyes open, the large golden orbs just staring at her with shocked paralysis.

Ed hadn't meant to kiss Winry. He'd been aiming for her cheek, or her brow, or her nose. He just wanted to tease her, get her a little messy for making fun of him, not kiss her! And actually, he wasn't even really kissing her, they were merely touching one another on the lips. But if he puckered just so…and pressed forward a little bit…

Winry pulled away first, and Ed never got to see what would happen if he actually took the chance to kiss his friend properly. He blinked and focused on her, noting that her lips and chin were now splattered with syrup and crumbs. When she moved to lick her lips, Ed twitched. Al's voice rang inside of his head, something about the spring-time of youth or some poetic garbage like that. Was that why Ed's heart couldn't stop racing, or his mind make sense of anything, or why he found himself wondering what would happen if he moved his tongue to lick at the syrup that was dribbling off of Winry's chin? These surging feelings, mostly hormones but also something else that was powerful and absolutely frightening, left the young man in a panic as he wondered what he was supposed to say to Winry after accidentally kissing her.

It needed to be something classy and cool. Something that wasn't sugary or romantic, because that wasn't like him at all, but honest and sincere. Something that wouldn't make her slap him or hit him with a wrench or yell at him or cause her to make him sleep outdoors with Den. Something nice, and dashing, maybe a little dangerous. Something that Winry would always remember…

"Um…you know, apple pie was always my favorite."

* * *

_Well, I don't have very much to say except that that final line took **FOREVER** to write!_

_As always, please leave a review as they are alwasy appreciated and help me to be a better writer. No flames, please and thank you!_

_Hugs!_

**Giant Nickel**


	6. Hurt

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist_

**A/N**_**:**__ Here is my next EdxWin oneshot. I've just finished watching the series again for the umpteenth time and I got a little inspiration. This fic takes during episode 44 right after Ed and Al have their fight and Al decides to spend the night talking with their father while Ed stays at the Rockbells'. There might be a few spoilers about the first anime series, so you have been warned. Also, there is gratuitous use of the word 'fuck', but Ed's really pissed off in this fic, so he doesn't have much of a language filter at the moment. Just a head's up._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**Hurt**

Winry removed her protective goggles furiously and threw a dirty look at the far wall of her bedroom. She had been trying to tinker with a joint motor but for the last twenty minutes she had been infuriatingly distracted by the repetitive stomping coming from the room beside hers.

_Thump…clank…_

"Fuck!"

_Thump…clank…_

"Son of a bitch!"

_Thump…clank…_

"Idiot!"

_T__hump…clank…_

"Fucking son of a bitch idiot!"

Winry had had enough. She couldn't concentrate with Ed pacing and cursing in the next room. She needed to get him to clam down so that she, in turn, could also relax. Ever since Colonel Mustang had come to Resembool seeking the brothers and they had discovered Hohenheim of Light had returned there had been an unbearable tension in the Rockbell house as thick as cauliflower soup. There was a horrid uncomfortable feeling that cloaked all occupants of the yellow house and Winry couldn't stand it!

This house wasn't just her home, it was a place of hope where the injured and crippled could be given a chance at a fresh life thanks to the automail that Pinako and Winry provided. It was a symbol of birth and renewal and for the Elric brothers it was a sanctuary that was meant to bring a sense of homecoming.

Winry didn't like that Ed was upset in the one place he should be able to find peace.

Pulling off her bandana, Winry made her way to Ed and Al's bedroom. She didn't knock, merely stepped in and closed the door behind her. Ed was still pacing, his boots having been thrown at the other end of the room leaving him barefoot. He was wearing his black trousers but had discarded his coat and gloves, leaving him in his black sleeveless shirt. His braid had been ripped out of its neat coif, his golden hair falling in crimped tangles around his face and shoulders.

Winry's breath caught in her throat as she watched him move.

Disheveled and angry Ed looked like a wild animal, stalking around the room, his golden eyes seeking his prey.

They landed on her, narrowed and harsh and Winry gulped. She could feel the anger radiating off of him like electricity, the furious sparks crackling around his taut body, reaching out for her with deadly intent. She began to wonder if it was wise to close herself in with Ed when he was obviously ready to pounce on the first person who crossed his path. She had only seen Ed this mad on a few occasions and all of those times he had been just a little boy. Now he was a sixteen year old teenager, brimming over with too many hormones and too many emotions. He was as equally dangerous as he was vulnerable and Winry felt her heart expand with compassion for her oldest friend. She also felt her skin flush and her pulse beat a frantic staccato as Ed stared at her with those furious golden eyes, but Winry would not cower, no matter how much her body tingled in the darkness of the room.

She crossed her arms and forced an expression of petulant boredom on her features.

"What's the problem?" she drawled.

Her blunt question and seemingly uninterested demeanor only added fuel to Ed's ragging inferno of a temper.

"Fuck off, Winry. I'm serious. Leave me alone." Ed warned, his voice strained and dark, like the hollow wail of a lonely ocean. Winry bit her lip, refusing to shatter her mask of ennui and allow Ed to see how truly concerned she was.

"I'm not leaving until you stop sulking and tell me what's wrong." she insisted haughtily. "Where's Al?"

"Arg!" Ed hollered and Winry jumped back in genuine surprise. He kicked the bedpost with his left foot, the wood chipping under his heated attack. He cried out again, the noise an uncomfortable strain within the quiet house. Ed raised his hands and pulled at the roots of his hair like a raving lunatic, his desperate, hard yell making the floorboards shake. He spun around and looked at her, a wounded animal so deprived of soft affection that he would bite the first tentative hand that reached out to offer him a gentle touch. His eyes were so very angry, but in the centre of the fury, Winry believed she could make out the swirling mists of pain.

He was hurting.

Badly.

"Al's out there!" Ed spat, his automail finger pointing accusingly at the open bedroom window. "With _him_."

"Him? You mean your…"

"Don't say it, Winry! Don't fucking say it! He's not my father he's the bastard who left my mother and let her die and he never gave a shit about me or Al!" Ed ranted, his hands now dropping to his sides and forming into harsh fists. Winry bit her tongue when her well tuned mechanic's ears picked up on the subtle hiss of wrenching gears and protesting hydraulics. She wasn't going to yell at him, even if he was putting undo strain on her greatest piece of automail thus far.

He was too angry to even listen to her, anyway.

"How can he do that? How can Al go to him?! How can both of them act like the last thirteen years haven't happened?!" Ed demanded, breathing heavily, his back to the window.

"Ed…"

"That…that man betrayed us. He betrayed mom! He just left and never wrote and never called and then he comes back…we hate him…"

"Does Al feel that way?" Winry asked quietly.

"He should!" Ed growled. "That bastard doesn't deserve our time, or respect, or love, or…"

Ed's voice trailed off, shrinking into the faint echo of that three year old boy who didn't understand why his father had walked away and why his mother continued to wait for a man who had hurt her so horribly.

"He made her sad. He let her die. She would have lived if he'd come back."

"You don't know that."

"The fuck I don't!" Ed cried. The Fullmetal Alchemist was straining to keep control over his rage, his body shaking as he yelled his hurt for all the Rockbell house and surrounding countryside to hear. His words were ugly and horrible, but at their core Winry could hear the pathetic whimpers of a little boy who wanted to know why he had been abandoned by his father. "I thought Al understood! Maybe he's been bottled up in that armor for too long. I just…how can he just go to him like that? How can he just forgive him? I can't. I _won't_!"

"You don't have to!" Winry bellowed back. "Just slow down for a minute. Just stop!"

"I can't!" Ed roared brokenly, doubling over as if someone had punched him hard in the gut. "It hurts! I hate him and it _hurts_." he growled lowly, like an angry whisper. His arms, lax at his sides, seemed to drag him down and when his shoulders started to quake Winry's cold façade finally dissolved. She couldn't be cross with him, no matter how much he abused her automail or made a racket or lashed out irrationally, Ed was hurt and as his best friend she would do all in her power to make those deep seeded aches drain away from his taxed body.

She walked towards him, stealthily and tentatively, like an animal tamer might approach a rogue beast. Ed started at her movements, looking up at her and seeing that she was coming at him with that soft compassionate look that he only ever admitted to himself made his breath catch and heart pound erratically. But Ed didn't want Winry's comfort or the feelings she inspired within him. So he retreated, stepping back from Winry for every step she made towards him, but Winry didn't give Ed a chance to escape her and rushed forward, capturing him in her embrace, her arms wrapped firmly around his neck and her face buried against his throat. He struggled, first with a genuine fierceness that left Winry locking her elbows and wrapping her legs around his automail one, pressing herself deeper into him, refusing to allow him to just walk away.

He needed this, even if he didn't realize it.

Ed fought against Winry's embrace, twisting his neck and slithering his body between her arms in a desperate rush for release. He did everything he could think of without hurting her, and even then he wondered if she would let him go if he bit her. But he wouldn't resort to that. No matter how illogical his horrid thoughts and dark feelings were, Ed couldn't fathom ever hurting Winry.

When it was apparent that he wouldn't be able to free himself from her, Ed went nearly limp, his body numb under the barrage of emotions that were tearing him apart.

And then he hugged her back, his arms of automail and flesh snaking around her waist and pulling her flush against him, his embrace hard and desperate. He buried his nose in her yellow hair and took deep breaths as he struggled to keep his tears of frustration at bay. His heart continued to hammer, his pulse beating like war drums in his ears, and he hugged her tighter.

Winry squeezed Ed back, her ferocity no less than his. She wanted to purge his soul of the dark, lonely hurt that was suffocating him. She hoped that by hugging him she could absorb all of his burdens. She cared about him so much and wanted him to understand that he could trust her…he could share with her…he could cry in front of her…

It wasn't tears that he gave her, however.

In the morning, when Ed was hiding safely in the basement and she was tinkering with her latest automail project, Winry would wonder why she believed that Ed would simply hold on to her, gaining all the comfort he needed from her mere presence and strong arms. Passivity was never Ed's style, even when he was at his lowest point. He always acted, always had to do something to prove his emotions. Maes Hughes had once explained to Winry the power behind strong actions and had told her that for men like Ed, words were not easy to come by when dealing with overpowering feelings.

He kissed her.

It was not a chaste flight of fancy like most first kisses, nor was it sweetly romantic or a sizzling wet erotic dance of tongues and lips. It was a brutal punishment, an angry outcry. He kissed her hard and furiously, penalizing her with his lips. He nipped at her mouth, very nearly biting and leaving a sensational sting in his wake. When Winry groaned against him Ed slipped his tongue past her lips, having discovered this enticing form of kissing from a raunchy paperback he had secretly read on long train rides. He didn't care if he was doing it right or if Winry was frightened by the gesture, he just wanted her to understand that he didn't want her succor.

He was trying to hate her for wishing to comfort him. He didn't want her sympathy, or her hugs, or her regard. All of those things took away his pain and Ed wanted to selfishly hang on to it like a crying child refuses to give up a moth-eaten teddy bear. He understood his anger and didn't want it to be taken away, because when it was gone what would be left of him? So he kissed her thoughtlessly, part of him wanting to frighten her, part of him wanting her to know he would not give her his pain to carry. It was his and he didn't share.

And yet…

He needed something from her, as much as he denied it. He needed her to battle his pain, to continue to try and tear down the solid stone walls he had placed between them the day he left to become a State Alchemist. Her resilience in the face of his coldness, her determination to try and be close to him, to recapture what they had lost…it made Ed feel like a whole human again. He kissed her, seeking an unnamable alchemy, a science that was completely out of his reach but beseechingly beckoning all the same. He reached for it, and when Winry's tongue, not shy and docile but passionately and with matching aggressiveness, began to kiss him back, Ed felt that wall he had built puncture, allowing only a small hole into the defense, but it was enough for Winry to press forward and capture him completely.

And that was when Ed realized that Winry was kissing him for the same raw reasons that he was kissing her. She wasn't trying to carry his hurt, or grasp onto the old bonds they once shared. She was fighting him with her own pain. She pulled at his hair and bit his bottom lip hard, telling him that she had her own burdens to bear, ones that he was the cause of and that he could never repair.

They wrestled as they savagely kissed, Ed forcing Winry against the wall so that he could press his body flush against hers. She yelped when her back thumped against the unyielding wood, but Ed barely gave her a chance to breathe before his mouth was on her again. He held her wrists above her head in a brutal grip and when she gasped from the pain of her skin pinching between his automail fingers he simply kissed her harder. She bumped her hips against his in retaliation, teasing him cruelly for being cruel.

It was a violent catharsis for both teens, each angry at each other and the world. Ed's left hand worked its way down Winry's torso, grasping onto the smooth warm flesh of her hips, certain his tight hold would leave bruises. Winry yanked at his hair several times, pulling out a few of the golden tresses, but the sting in Ed's scalp only encouraged him to continue kissing his mechanic so hard that their teeth clanked uncomfortably together.

They were kissing each other to make up for all the kisses they could have had if life and Truth and Fate and alchemy had not been so fickle. They kissed to bring pleasure and to hurt and to prove to themselves that there was a spark that existed between them. They were kissing each other as a sadistic glimpse into the future they might have had, but that was certainly lost to them forever. It was kisses of greetings and goodbyes, of comfort and pain, of brutality and solemn tenderness.

They kissed to heal and to wound.

When Ed released Winry's lips and gasped for air, he looked into her face, prepared to see resentment, prepared to take a wrench to the temple, prepared to get the longest lecture of his life, but not prepared to see her mirroring his own hurtful scowl, two trails of crystalline tears falling from the corners of her eyes to meet at the tip of her chin and drip down to the floor in the space between them. He should have said something, should have turned away from her like he always did, but Ed found he couldn't let go of her, and when he commanded his feet to back away, they brought him forward until he collapsed against her, trembling as if he had emerged from the black depths of a frozen river.

He felt them then, his own tears racing down his cheeks and falling onto the floor. They landed on top of Winry's tears, and as Ed tried to piece himself back together after giving up everything within himself to those fevered kisses, he felt himself being lowered. His body fell slowly, just like his tears, but he was supported steadfastly by the body of the only other woman he would dare human transmutation for.

Winry's body slid down along the wall, her arms holding Ed around the shoulders in a light, supportive manner. When she hit the floor, Ed slumped listlessly into her lap, his cheek resting against her belly, his arms hanging loosely around her hips, his tears continuing to fall. Winry's tears continued to fall as well, mingling with Ed's. They held each other through the night, two souls drifting in the dark phantoms of hurt and pain and betrayal, seeking the other to anchor to so they wouldn't have to be alone.

If either Edward Elric or Winry Rockbell were flowery teenagers given to fairy tales and the cosmic divinities of Fate and Destiny, they might have believed that they were soul mates, each one an incomplete fragment until culminating with the other. But Winry didn't give credence to such fripperies and while Ed did believe in a soul he knew there was nothing on earth or beyond the Gate that could ever be equal to the spark of life that made each human their own unique person.

However, there was something that drew them together…something that left them feeling whole when in the presence of the other.

Ed was a wonderer, a man who drifted on the torrid seas of pain and navigated through the fogs of hurt. Winry was a port, a beacon that was beat upon by the waves of that same stormy sea and found itself cloaked in those same thick fogs. Winry could never tame Ed, she could never truly understand his pain just as he could never fully grasp hers, but what they could do for each other was provide a strange glowing companionship, one that survived every hurricane, typhoon, deluge and shipwreck. Winry was his port, Ed was her ship. They could never go where the other went, but on hard lonely nights, when the pain was too much, when the hurt threatened to splinter the ship into a million tiny, irretrievable pieces, they could find each other in the dark and hold on tightly so that they wouldn't fly away.

In the morning, they would go back to the way things were.

He would still be an alchemy freak. She would still be a machine freak. They would tease and talk and laugh and not let on to the night's tumultuous events. But in their eyes, the storm would still rage, the pain would still be there, and yet their strength to see the hurt through would be unstoppable.

They remained together on the floor of Ed's bedroom, tears still trickling from exhausted, closed eyes, arms still lopped around weakened and overtaxed bodies, and lips still swollen and moist from hard punishing kisses until the sun broke over the mountains, bringing with it the cleansing balm of a new day.

* * *

_Wow._

_So, this is another example of how, sometimes, the words and the characters and the story get away from you and you create something that you had never intended, but that is beautiful and moving. Seriously, I don't even feel like I wrote this because this sort of psychological introspective is really not my scene. I love character development and character relations, but I honestly never dreamed that this fic would delve so deeply into the consciousness of two of my favorite characters._

_I'm sure most of you know that I'm a huge fan of Ed/Win, and I've always felt that the first anime relationship between the pair was something more unconscious and darker than is made prevalent in the manga. Actually, the first anime itself treks through some very dark, very heavy, material. __Anyway, I really like this drabble. It's hard for me to reconcile the incompleteness of the Ed/Win relationship in the first anime (which is why I started writing _Don't Forget_ to begin with) , but for this oneshot I tried to get a good look at that relationship in its unfulfilled form. _

_OK, that's enough of my notes on the topic. What I really want to know is what all of you think. Reviews are very much appreciated, so please leave me a comment or two if you like. No flames, please and thank you!_

**Giant Nickel**


	7. Cuddle

_Disclaimer: In the real world, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, but once I learn how to crack this irksome visage known as reality then we'll see who's the boss. Mwaaaaa!!!!!_

**A/N:**_ So I was perusing my FMA character guide book and I came across the section about Resembool where Arakawa described how movies are viewed in the mountain town and that's how this little gem was born. I think it's pretty cute, and I hope everyone who reads it enjoys it!_

_So, enjoy!_

* * *

**Cuddle**

You could practically taste the anticipation that wafted through the air of Resembool when the Movie Man came to town. The small mountain village, with its population of farmers and little else, couldn't afford a movie theatre of its own, and so, on those particular crisp Saturday nights when the Movie Man came tinkering into town, a trunk full of film reels and a projector that stood on a tripod latched to his wagon, the citizens of Resembool were all abuzz with excitement.

What film would he show this time? Another frightening tale of morale concerning the laws of alchemy? A sweeping, adventurous epic that followed the Xingese merchants of days long gone? A documentary on the lost empire of Xerxes or the founding of Central? A heart-wrenching romance between an automail engineer and the soldier she fitted with a new prosthetic arm after a terrible war? A comedy that saw two unlikely partners traverse over deserts and seas and mountains on their journey home? There was any number of possibilities and that is what made the Movie Man's visits all the more exciting!

At twilight, people began to gather in the back lot of Homer's Grocery and Utilities, the town's local general store. The back of the shop had been white washed and served as the perfect improvised screen for those cool summer nights when people preferred to sit outside and enjoy the sweet air and the show.

Edward Elric, by coincidence finding himself in his home town on the eve that the Movie Man had brought another celluloid delight to the cloistered village, was waiting in a line-up for popcorn as people milled about around him. He watched as most set up blankets or folding lounge chairs on the grassy lot, some opening up picnic baskets to reveal homemade treats while others drank cool beer and talked happily as they waited for the Movie Man to get his projector set up. The lanterns, which would be doused once the movie began, lined the back lot of the store and cast a warm, comforting glow among the gathering townspeople. Neighbors chatted, seniors gossiped, children roughhoused and laughed, and everyone waved at everyone else because, in a town as small as Resembool, if you weren't related you at least grew up together and were on friendly terms with your peers.

Even though he had come and gone from the little town for nearly six years, Ed could still easily name every face he saw, and it comforted him to know that, after some of the things he had seen in his many days of wandering, little treasures such as this protected eastern village could continue to feel untouched and safe.

"Two bags, please." Ed requested when he got to the front of the line, digging into his pant's pocket for change.

"Hello, Edward." the vendor greeted from behind his popcorn wagon. "Here for a while this time?" he asked as he filled two stripped paper bags with fresh fluffy popcorn.

"Just the night." Ed answered, slapping the sens into the man's gloved palm.

"That's a shame. Oh well, at least you're here on movie night, and I hear this one is a real classic. A great date movie."

"Date movie?" Ed echoed as he took the bags of popcorn. "Why would I care about that?"

"Well, I see you came with Winry. Finally made a move, eh, boy? Always knew you would, though I thought it would be a little sooner than this, but oh well. Better late than never, right?"

Ed's eye twitched.

"What?!" the fifteen year old roared. "Me on a date with Winry? Made a move? You always knew? You always knew what, old man?! Obviously you don't know anything because if you did you'd know Winry and I are just friends. This isn't a date, it's hanging out!"

"Fine, fine, whatever you say, Edward." the vendor drawled as he gently pushed the teenager aside so that he could continue to serve his customers. Further enraged by the man's complete lack of interest in the facts, Ed took a moment to fume silently before stomping away, mindful not to crush the bags of popcorn.

Winry would skin him alive if he brought her popcorn crumbs.

Walking between and around the several people who had gathered to watch the movie, Ed grumbled under his breath, his paranoid mind wondering if everyone else believed that he and Winry were on a date. It was true that he and Winry had come to the general store alone, but that was because Granny Pinako had to stay back at the house with a recovering patient and Al had…well, now that Ed thought about it, his little brother really didn't have a good excuse for not coming.

When the brothers had showed up unexpectedly on the Rockbell doorstep earlier that day, automail and armor fully functional and in no need of maintenance, Winry, after her customary violent greeting, was quite thrilled and had invited the brothers out to join her at the movie. Ed had immediately agreed, but Al had been strangely obtrusive, first saying he had to oil his armor and didn't want to upset the rest of the film-goers with the smell, then saying that Granny needed his help when it was obvious the old battle-axe didn't need anyone's help, and finally stating rather unconvincingly that he wasn't interested in seeing the movie and that Ed and Winry should go on without him. Sure, Ed had thought the whole situation very unlike Al, but even so, his little brother had decided not to come and so Ed and Winry had made their way to the general store together.

There was nothing wrong with that. Just because Al wasn't with them didn't make it a date. Al didn't think it was a date. There was no way the younger Alphonse had set him up…

"That little shit." Ed whispered when it was finally clear to him what Alphonse had done.

"Mmm?" Winry wondered, looking up at Ed from her place on the tweed blanket she had arranged on the ground.

"Nothing." Ed hastily spat, making a note to hide Al's head in the near future for his revenge. "Here."

He unceremoniously plunked the paper bag onto Winry's lap, making sure the gesture was sloppy and careless. If he was too delicate or attentive, then it really would look like he and Winry were on a date and Ed didn't want anyone, Winry especially, to get the wrong idea.

Winry wouldn't ever agree to go on a date with him anyway.

Slumping beside her, Ed was sure to keep a good hand's width of distance between himself and Winry.

"I'm really glad you and Al stopped by to visit today." Winry admitted, munching on her popcorn. "What made you decide to come?"

"We were in the area." Ed answered mysteriously, not daring to lock eyes with Winry and see her give him that all too familiar look of disgruntled hurt when he wouldn't tell her the details.

It wasn't as if there was much to tell in the first place. He and Al had heard of an alchemist who had supposedly created his own Philosopher's Stone, inexplicably destroyed it, and was now living as a hermit in the mountains that were close to Resembool. Trekking the hills, the Elrics had searched for a week before coming upon the cave of the alchemist only to discover that he was a crazed, ill mountain man who scrawled illegible equations on the walls of his cavern dwelling, his ability to communicate all but forgotten. Though they stayed with the man for days, neither Ed nor Al were able to get him to divulge his secrets and left in vain. Although, when they had told the hermit alchemist that they would be leaving his company, the man's glassy green eyes seemed to clear, as if he was finally seeing the brothers for the first time and hearing their pleas for information on the Stone.

'_It'll destroy you boys, looking for that Stone. It'll tear you apart until there's nothing left. Better just go home…_'

The man's words had been haunting, a sad testament to just how deeply he had succumbed to his madness. There was nothing Ed and Al could do except listen to him, do with that information what they may, and leave.

Frustrated after hitting another dead end, Ed had been grumbling about his inevitable report to Colonel Mustang when Al had suggested they take the hermit's advice and pop in to visit Winry and Granny. They were very close to their childhood village and since they were stuck waiting for the morning train regardless, it was decided that a visit (and a free room to crash in) was a good idea.

Ed wasn't too sure if Winry would appreciate his sentiments on looking to save a few sens by bunking at the Rockbell house, so he kept quiet and tried to enjoy the familiar atmosphere behind Homer's and waiting with fidgeting anticipation for the Movie Man to begin the film.

Movie nights had always been a particular favorite of Ed's when he was a child. The exotic locales, daring personalities and special effects wonders had always captivated him as a boy. He, Al and Winry would curl up on a blanket or sleeping bag, their young minds entranced by the images that flashed before them. Movie night was a time to relax and escape and not be bothered by the trials of everyday life like reports, and research and relationships…

Ed cringed, his teeth gnashing together.

Why had he thought of that?! It only reminded the fifteen year old that there were some people in the crowd that were likely under the misconception that he and Winry were on a date, when they most certainly were not!

'_It can't be a date. If it was, that would mean Winry liked me and she doesn't. If she did, she wouldn't hit me with that stupid wrench so much._' Ed theorized.

"Why so quiet?" Winry wondered, her voice much closer to his ear than Ed realized. He snapped his head to the left, startled by the way her warm breath tickled his neck. Winry had sidled up close to him, her shoulder brushing against his in such a subtle way that it shouldn't have caused his skin to pucker in the warm evening.

"So, uh, what's the movie about?" Ed asked, trying to be cool and casual, turning his golden gaze towards the blank, white-washed back wall of the general store.

"I heard it was a horror flick." Winry said. "You know, ancient Xingese curses, unstoppable killers, blood and guts, maybe even a naked girl…"

"Winry!" Ed cried, his face going as red as a ripe summer strawberry.

"Oh relax, I'm just kidding." Winry teased, patting Ed's arm playfully. "But seriously, I hope it's not too scary. I don't want nightmares."

Ed continued to stare at Winry strangely for a moment, urging his blood to stop shooting through his veins at dangerous speeds and his heart to return to a normal, constant beat. He was never this fidgety around Winry…well, at least not when his automail was in perfect working order and he wasn't on pins and needles waiting for her to whip out that damn wrench.

"Oh! It's starting!" Winry whispered, her voice soft and eager as the lanterns were doused and the peddling hum of the projector filled the air in the back lot. As lights began to flicker on the white wall and the crisp images began to move freely along the surface like a fantastical dream, Ed learned that, indeed, the film was a horror. He was excited to watch the movie, his mother and Pinako having refused to let Ed, Al or Winry watch slasher flicks when they were children.

When the first gory murder scene took place and Ed felt Winry flinch at his side, an unwelcome thought suddenly raced to the forefront of the young alchemist's imagination that succeeded in dampening any joy he might have gained from the movie. An image of Colonel Roy Mustang in all of his smug glory materialized in Ed's memory as his sharp mind recalled tidbits of a conversation he had overheard the Fire Alchemist having with Jean Havoc…

* * *

_"I just don't know what I'm doing wrong, Colonel. I can't get further than a friendly handshake good-night with any of the ladies." Havoc lamented, chewing on the end of a fresh cigarette. _

_"It's all in the technique, Havoc." Mustang confided, quickly glancing over his shoulder to be sure that Hawkeye wasn't lingering nearby to scold him for the advice he was about to give to the Second Lieutenant. He ushered Jean closer with a quick wave of his gloved hand before whispering lowly. "Take her to a scary movie."_

_"Sir?" the Second Lieutenant questioned, unsure of what valuable wisdom his superior officer was trying to pass down to him. Besides, movies were expensive. _

_"Trust me. Look at the listings and find a good, bloody, horror movie."_

_"Why horror?" Jean asked, still not catching on to the Colonel's meaning. Rolling his eyes, Mustang inched closer to Jean, lowly muttering into the man's twitching ear._

_"Think about it. It's just you and her in a dark room watching terrifying things happen. She'll get scared, you hold her hand. She'll turn away and put her face against your chest, you put your arm around her, maybe kiss her temple as a reassurance that nothing will harm her. Then, when she looks into your eyes, asking if you'll protect her from the evil demons on the screen, you lean in close and…"_

_Havoc's cigarette fell out of his mouth and a goofy grin spread over his face, a tiny dribble of blood slipping from his nostrils as his overactive imagination began to picture the amorous possibilities that his Colonel was promising._

_"But sir, will it really work?" Jean asked dreamily._

_"Of course it will." Mustang stated arrogantly, seemingly annoyed that his knowledge of picking-up women would be questioned. "Don't you know, Havoc? Horror movies are a guaranteed make-out opportunity."_

* * *

Ed's face turned tomato-red as he recalled the Colonel's parting words to Havoc, wishing desperately that he could go back in time to that day and not choose to wander down that corridor on his way to the canteen.

A guaranteed make-out opportunity?

Could that blow-hard of a Colonel be right?

Ignoring the movie for a moment, Ed attempted to subtly crane his head over the people gathered in the back lot to discern exactly what type of crowd had come to watch the movie. When he spotted the gang of ten year old boys that had gathered close to the wall, Ed nearly let out a sigh of relief, but when he took in his immediate surroundings, the Fullmetal Alchemist paled.

Couples.

As far as his golden eyes could see, couples were gathered in the back lot. Some were middle aged and older, there were the odd husband and wife duo snuggling together, but for the most part, the area was filled with teenagers and young adults. Curled up around each other, the overwhelming number of boyfriends and girlfriends seemed to Ed to be an insulting affirmation that Roy Mustang had been right about the horror movie scene. Ed choked back a gag, terrified of what Winry might expect from him.

Did she think they were on a date?

Did she know about the secret goings-on at horror movies?

Did she expect him to make-out with her?

"Gross!" Winry exclaimed, burying her face against Ed's shoulder, using her hand to further shield her eyes.

"What?!" Ed cried going stiff as a popsicle, finding no relief in Winry's close proximity. He wasn't ready for this! He wasn't a suave Casanova-type who could take a girl into his arms and sweep her off her feet with amorous rhetoric and poetry. He couldn't just kiss with Winry! She'd kill him or hit him with the wrench or worse, she might kiss him back.

"Is it over yet?" Winry asked, her voice muffled against Ed's shirt. Ed shivered at the strength of the sensation of Winry's lips brushing against his shoulder before gulping and turning his attention back to the film.

The gaggle of screaming teenagers who had dared to break the evil demon's seal were running through a forest like crazed, headless chickens, but other than that there was nothing to flinch at. In fact, the whole experience had lost its allure and left Ed disgruntled and annoyed.

"There's nothing, Win. You can look." Ed urged roughly, pushing against her with his shoulder in the hopes that she would get the hint and dislodge from him. However, Winry ignored Ed's brute gesture and instead made herself comfortable leaning heavily against his side, head cushioned on his shoulder, thigh brushing against his, and her hands wrapping easily around his arm.

Ed felt light-headed. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't enjoy the movie…all he could wonder was what Winry expected of him as she cuddled against him, her unconcerned blue eyes focused on the movie flashing across the back of Homer's.

And then the temperamental, bemusing, wonderful young automail mechanic did something that lifted every fear and nervous twitch from Ed's psyche.

She held his hand.

Her fingers were long and slim and they rested comfortably in the palm of Ed's hand, barely gripping him and offering soothing warmth. Winry's hands had always been able to work this odd miracle on Edward. It was an alchemy that even the child prodigy couldn't explain, but the easy weight of Winry's hand in his drained every nerve, fear and spastic twitch from the teenager. His tense muscles relaxed, his posture slackened, his neck fell until his chin was resting on the crown of Winry's head and his left hand turned upwards so that he could curve his own small, callused fingers around in Winry's palm.

Suddenly nothing mattered.

He was comfortable, falling back into old routines of Winry curling up by his side at naptime, or peering over his shoulder to see what he was reading, or holding his hand as she sat diligently at his bedside as both doctor and friend. His memories of Winry were saturated with her familiar touch.

And cuddled against Winry in the darkened back lot, nestled snuggly in the atmosphere of his hometown, his cheek against her temple and her hand in his, Ed decided that he didn't mind if everyone in town thought he and Winry were on a date.

* * *

_And that's the end of that._

_I gotta say, I really like the idea of Ed and Winry going to the movies. Maybe, in a future fic, I'll write about Ed actually taking Winry out to one of those fancy Central cinemas. _

_Anyway, I want to know what you thought of it. Too sweet? Not sweet enough? Please, leave a review and have your voice heard!_

_No flames, please and thank you!_

**Giant Nickel**


	8. Winter

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist_

**A/N**_: Here is the next season in my little oneshot collection. It takes place during the Briggs arc, approximately somewhere in chapter 71. Warning, there are spoilers for the FMA manga series ahead, so just be aware before you read further._

_Hope you like it!_

* * *

**Winter**

Winry took a deep breath, sucking in the frigid Briggs air. The chilling sensation of ice coating her lungs caused the fifteen year old to shiver despite her heavy woolen layers of outerwear. Readjusting her scarf to better shield her chin from the frozen breeze, Winry leaned heavily against the monstrous fortress wall, her eyes squinting as she looked out over the snow-covered terrain. Nothing but slopping mountains with peaks that reached far up into the atmosphere greeted the teenager, and a childish part of her heart couldn't help but grudgingly wish those dense mountains were lavender instead of grey, the valley below green and full of wildflowers rather than a dead blanket of winter.

She missed Resembool, and it wasn't until she'd trekked up to the northern-most boarder of Amestris that she realized just how much her heart ached for home. And now, knowing her precarious situation, the young woman felt a terrible weight of helplessness as she worried that she might never get the chance to return to her warm yellow house again.

'_A military hostage,_' Winry thought bitterly, resting her chin over her crossed arms, eyes still staring over the white horizon. '_I'm so stupid._'

And indeed, Winry couldn't even remember when she had felt so moronic. Not even one week ago, she had been sweltering in a workroom in Rush Valley, teasing Mr. Garfiel about his crush on the postman, playing cards with Paninya and making regular visits up the mountain to observe Mr. Dominic. And then the military had called, and when the horrifyingly brief moment of panic had passed when Winry realized that she was not being informed Ed and Al's status as MIA or deceased, the automail mechanic had packed just the bare essentials and happily accepted the State escort to the northern boarder. She had never suspected anything other than courtesy from the officers that had accompanied her on the four day journey north. Even the charismatic Zolf J. Kimblee, who had so eloquently spoken of her parents, had successfully blinded her to the real reason she had been brought to Briggs.

She was nothing more than an exhibit of the bottom line for the Elric brothers and their tense relationship with the military. Her very presence was meant to slap Edward and Alphonse across the face with the brash promise the elder brother had made to the leader of their country. A pocket watch wasn't enough, it seemed, and so Winry had been sent for as a none-too-subtle reminder that her life rested within the brothers' palms.

The discovery that she was to be used as a choke-collar on the boys almost made her want to cry, but as she refused to break Ed's promise to her, Winry swallowed her grief and focused her efforts on formulating an escape plan.

Ed had been ordered to leave Briggs and enter North City to search for Scar.

A shudder wracked her body and it had nothing to do with the cold weather.

Scar was the man who had killed her parents, but perhaps even more drastic than that, he was the man who was killing state alchemists with brutal reckoning and Ed had, not surprisingly, become a desperately wanted target of the Ishballan.

"Idiot," Winry mumbled, before standing up straight and giving herself a firm mental shake. Now was not the time to be worrying about Edward and how his stupidity was sure to get him into trouble. She had to configure her own plan of escape from the granite fortress and flee from under the ever-watchful eye of the military. Only when she was well away from anyone in a blue uniform would Ed and Al be free to continue on their quest. She refused to be used against them.

"Hey."

Turning towards the door that led to the chilly gallery, Winry smiled feebly as Ed sauntered towards her, hands dug deep into his coat pockets and a frown stretching his lips.

"What're 'ya doing out here?" he grumbled.

"Thinking," she answered and offered no further explanation. Her elusiveness made Ed's brow crinkle, but he just rolled his eyes before leaning heavily against the wall.

"We're leaving soon. In about an hour."

"Oh."

"I don't know how long we'll be gone," Ed admitted, throwing his head back to look up at the grey sky. He was doing his best to appear calm and cool, his posture slouched, jaw tilted and his legs crossed at the ankle. His eyes, however, betrayed every chaotic, worried thought that plagued his mind. They shifted stealthily to regard the girl standing beside him, taking in her figure, tracing the length of her hair as it flowed down to her waist, finally focusing on her face where he was able to discern nothing but anxiety. "I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely, the words torn from the bottom of his soul, tasting bitter on his tongue.

"Why?" Winry asked, her own voice a soft song tinged with sorrow.

"It's all my fault. Everything's my fault," he admitted, lowering his head so that his chin was resting on his chest. Startled by the broken timber of Ed's voice, Winry turned to fully regard her best friend. The long fringe of his dark flaxen bangs covered his eyes from her view, but she could see his mouth, thin and hard pressed, his teeth gnashing together as he fought the conflicting emotions that shook his being like a midnight blizzard.

"I don't understand," Winry said as she moved to stand closer to him, one hand stretched out before her, reaching for him, yet frozen in the act.

"This whole hostage bullshit…it's my fault. I should have been more careful," he whispered, though within the private walls of his mind, he chastised himself brutally for not being strong enough to protect Winry from the claws of the military. He really hadn't learned anything in the last four years.

"Don't say that," Winry insisted. "I knew what I was getting in to when you came home with that damn watch."

Ed snorted in complete disbelief, the obnoxious gesture grating on Winry's short temper. Repressing a growl, she grabbed his shoulder. When he kept his face downcast, Winry cupped his chin and urged him to look her in the eye. She took in a quick breath when she realized just how square Ed's chin had become and she was overcome with a startling urge to take off her leather gloves and run her bare fingertips along his jaw and feel for herself if stubble had taken root on that strong chin.

"I should have tried harder," Ed said, his golden eyes locked with her blue ones.

"You tried as hard as you could. It's OK, Ed."

"This wasn't supposed to happen, though! Al and I were the only ones meant to deal with the military. If there was ever anything dangerous you were supposed to stay safe. I…I wish none of this ever happened."

"Enough!" Winry roared, her eyes narrowed and buzzing with angry blue electricity. "You should know better than anyone that wishing doesn't accomplish anything. You're a doer, Ed. So start doing something!"

"And what the hell am I supposed to do? My hands are tied here, Winry. Can't you see that?" he retorted, smacking himself in the forehead as he tried to cool his temper. "I never wanted them to know about you. I never wanted these people to touch you."

"Well like it or not, it's happened. To be honest I was actually, sort of expecting this," Winry admitted, crossing her arms to fight off the harsh chill. "When you and Al first left it was hard not to think of all the terrible things that could happen to you. I'd have nightmares about it. But joining the military was your choice and so I decided that I would support you in whatever you did. I had promised that I would back you up and I meant it. Why do you think I came up to this frozen wasteland in the first place?"

"How can you be so damn accepting?" Ed wondered, his expression a crinkled snarl of confusion. "Why aren't you mad? I mean, I get one little dent in my automail and you become a harpy, but you find out that the military is holding you hostage against me and you're completely cool with it."

"Don't be an idiot," Winry snorted, punching Ed squarely in the chest. "I'm pissed off."

"Well you're not acting like it!" Ed hollered.

"Well I am!" Winry insisted. "I'm mad at the military, I'm mad at that Kimblee man, I'm mad at myself and I'm really, _really_ mad at you!"

"Me? What did I do now?!"

"Everything!" Winry cried out taking a short, threatening step towards her friend. "You couldn't just be happy with the automail. Hundreds of people have prosthetic limbs, and they've gone on to live very normal, content lives, but not you…never you."

Ed frowned, refusing to turn away from Winry as she released all of the pent up emotions she had put aside over the years. He had always known that she resented his bullheaded quest for the Philosopher's Stone, but Winry had never once put her frustration to words. It was about time she told him how she felt even if he didn't really want to listen.

He owed her.

"Do you think being an automail engineer is easy? I'm fifteen, Ed. In order to progress so far I've had to give up a lot. When you and Al left I dropped out of school to become Granny's apprentice and I've been working my ass off ever since! I want you two to come home and I know that if that's going to happen then you have to get your bodies back. I'm helping you the only way I know how and I don't regret that for one moment. I came here to give you better automail. I wanted to learn about northern style design and engineering so that you'll have the best support I can give. It just sucks it's not enough…Ah!"

Winry gasped, halting her tirade when Ed suddenly ripped his gloves off with his teeth and reached out grip the back of her neck with his right hand. He urged her closer, and with the nearly paralyzing cold that rushed down her spine from the point where Ed's metal fingers were touching her, Winry was unable to fight his coaxing. She was certain she never felt so cold before in her life, a stinging, burning numbness spread throughout her body like blood, touching every muscle, nerve and bone.

When she was only inches away from Ed he released her. The four points where his automail fingertips had touched her skin burned. Ed was frowning, knowing he had hurt her, even if only minutely, but he had a point to illustrate and touching her was the first action that had come to his mind.

Now, she would understand.

"Cold?" he sneered.

Winry opened her mouth but floundered for words, so she simply nodded.

"I've been nothing but cold since Al and I came to this fucking outpost," Ed admitted. "In the summer, sometimes the metal gets so hot that I sweat buckets and make myself sick. When it rains, the joints get stiff and they hurt. This has nothing to do with your work, Winry, it's just the way automail is. I'm used to having two appendages conduct temperature and humidity. I can't feel anything with this arm and leg, but I can feel _them_."

Ed's golden eyes bored deeply into Winry's, begging her to understand what he was trying to say. He was never very good with words and found his tongue felt foreign in his mouth. It was difficult to say exactly what was on his mind on a regular basis, but when the person he was trying to communicate with was Winry…well, it just became even more complicated. Still, he wouldn't stand to see her berate her work or her accomplishments. She was an amazing designer and engineer and he never told her that often enough. He appreciated her work, he appreciated _her_, but he couldn't turn his back on his goal when there was so much to be achieved once the quest was finished. Not only was there the all important goal of rejoining Al's soul and human body, but there were other things that Ed wanted with a private, driving desperation…

"I want to feel again," he confessed, this time raising his left hand so that his flesh fingers could touch that same spot on the back of Winry's neck, stroking the injured skin lightly. "Do you remember when I was first learning how to use the automail? You used to bully me into squeezing your hand as some sort of physical therapy. I got so mad at you that I gripped too hard and broke three of your fingers. You couldn't work on automail for weeks and didn't speak to me for even longer. I felt really bad for doing that and all I could think was, if it had been my real hand, I never would have hurt you."

Winry caught her breath at Ed's confession, her mind adjusting not only to his words but to the sensation of his skin against hers. His fingers were soft and hesitant, almost tickling the back of her neck as he continued to lightly caress her. It had been a while since Ed had touched her and now that she knew he was being haunted by an incident that she had all but forgotten, Winry felt she better understood some of the more personal motives driving her friend onwards in his dangerous mission.

"It'd be nice if I didn't have to worry about hurting you every time I touched you," Ed muttered. "It…" he paused curiously, his nose going red as he struggled to get the words out. "It would be nice to hug you again."

Unleashing a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, Ed found his courage struggling and so he moved to retreat, dragging his fingers away from Winry's neck, intending to hid them deep in his coat pocket, but Winry wouldn't let him escape. She snatched his left hand firmly and rested it on her cheek, moving just as stealthily to take his automail hand and place it on her face as well. Ed struggled, afraid of how his metal hand would agitate her skin, but the girl refused to let him escape and held his hands on her, allowing him to drink in the image of her face cupped by his mismatched palms.

Ed blushed, thankful for the cold and hoping his windblown cheeks would mask his flustered appearance from his mechanic's sharp blue eyes.

Winry giggled at Ed's tight, and slightly frightened expression, forgetting the sting his metal hand made on her skin. She needed him to know that she understood why he wanted his flesh arm and leg back, but she also had her own message to convey.

It didn't matter to her that he might accidentally break her fingers or scorch her skin with his automail. She loved him and she wanted him to know that, metal or flesh, she would always support him. An eager desire to kiss each of his palms swept over Winry, but she knew that if she kissed Ed's right hand her lips would adhere to the metal. Still, she had the bubbling urge to show him that she cared about his reasons, and so, finding the action much easier than she had imagined, Winry leaned forward and kissed Ed on his startled, pouting mouth.

Ed didn't move. He didn't pull Winry closer or tilt his head to one side. He didn't dig his fingers into her hair or groan against the soft contact of her lips against his own. He didn't even kiss her back. Eyes open, Ed stared at Winry as she kissed him, her own blue orbs closed in content relaxation. He couldn't understand how she could be so calm, not when a million flashes of memories were attacking him all at once.

The tender dryness of her lips soothing his bruised and dirty knee after he tripped over a gopher hole.

The sunshine of her smile as he presented her with a screwdriver he alchemized out of sediment minerals from the river.

The heavy, protective weight of her hand in his as she held it firmly throughout his mother's funeral service.

The warmth of her snuggling body keeping his anchored to earth as he fought the fever brought on by automail surgery.

The diamond sparkle of her tears baptizing her as thoroughly as the flames christened him on the night he left Resembool for the military.

Her careful attention to his arm in Central hospital, her gratefulness to his company on the trip to Rush Valley, her determination to be better for him and his journey, her artful patience in the apple pie she offered him, the guilty burden of her pain over the truth about her parents' murder and the searing brand of her smile tattooed in the echo of his promise to her.

This kiss, his first kiss, was another moment to add to the growing catalogue of keepsakes Winry had gifted him. He didn't want it to end, and yet he wanted to step back, run away from his best friend before he let himself kiss her back…before he wrapped his arms around her and confirmed to the military brass that she was indeed more than a mechanic to him…before he allowed himself to realize that he was falling in love with her even more than when they were last together in Central.

She stepped away from him, her lips puckered in a small pout, no doubt annoyed at his complete lack of response to her kiss. His hands fell away from her face, hanging useless and limp at his sides. He didn't speak or move. He just blinked at her, golden eyes large and swirling with too many emotions to pick out, his brow crinkling as he considered what at just happened and what it could mean.

"What was that for?" he asked, knowing it was exactly the wrong thing to say before Winry could respond. He was hoping she would hit him over the head with her wrench and knock the sensation of her kiss to the back of his memory where he could tuck it away. How was he supposed to focus on the task of capturing Scar and evading Kimblee when he could still taste Winry on his mouth?

The blond mechanic's features crinkled, the fog of her breath slapping him in the face as she huffed her indignant irritation with the alchemist who was proving to be thicker than the snow that buried Fort Briggs. He deserved a wrench to the head, or a slap to the face, but the knowledge of his impending departure kept her from lashing out. Knowing he was intending on facing Scar, Winry wanted all of Ed's sensibilities to be in tact. Still, if the fool couldn't figure out why she had kissed him, then she was simply going to have to come up with an excuse that was much more subtle than a badly timed declaration of love.

"Happy birthday," she shrugged before turning to walk back into the fort.

"What?!" Ed cried after her, halting the teenager in her tracks. She turned to face him, struggling to keep her features serene and unconcerned.

"You're birthday was two weeks ago, right? You're sixteen."

"And so you kiss me?"

"Everybody should get a kiss on their sixteenth birthday," was Winry's strange logical excuse, a fine pink blush coloring her ears before she disappeared into the yellow light beyond the fortress door.

Ed stood in the cold, stunned as he tried to make sense of the last half hour of his life. He had meant to teach Winry something about himself. He wanted to make her understand his reasons for always moving forward, and in his fumbling desperation, he had ended up the perplexed party. A kiss for a birthday he had forgotten had even passed? It was ridiculous! Winry had a talent for twisting his mind into a pretzel, a skill that fueled his irritation and crankiness.

Sneezing suddenly, Ed wiped at his nose and shook the disorder from his brain, forcing himself to forget about Winry and the confusion she wrought, deciding it was better to get back on track with his plans for Kimblee and Scar. Stomping into Briggs, a sneaky passing thought captured the interest of the alchemist as he pulled his glove over his automail hand.

Winry's birthday was just six weeks away.

And she would be turning sixteen.

* * *

_Wow._

_I can't believe how long it's been since I added to this collection. I've actually been working on this piece for a long time, going back to it in-between chapters of _Don't Forget_ when I needed to break up my writing focus. So I guess you could say this is another 'between-the-panels' piece, since I think it would be awesome if this really did happen during the Briggs arc. And I am so thrilled that they're finally at that point in Brotherhood. Some of my favorite scenes are going to be animated soon and just thinking about it makes me smile! _

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this drabble and should you wish to leave a review I will very happily accept it and reply. No flames, please and thank you._

_Happy holiday season!_

**Giant Nickel**


	9. Knowing

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist._

**A/N:**_ OK, so this is a oneshot I've been hanging onto for a while and editing and re-editing and re-hashing until I was finally happy with it. This is my first time venturing into the mind of Van Hohenheim so I'm treading new waters. This fic is actually way more Hohenheim/Trisha-centric than Ed/Win, but everything in here does have a point, and to be honest, I really like this drabble. Also, I know that in the 2003 anime that Hohenheim is over 400 years old, but I have to decided to age him a bit further in this drabble to one thousand years. _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**Knowing**

Having lived for nearly one millennium, Van Hohenheim had the confidence to declare, without snobbish authority or foppish posturing, that he was a wise man. He had read every text ever published in Amestris, had written several laws that were the foundations of Xing's imperial state, and served on the republican council of Creta's government. He had advised royalty, wandered great deserts and bottomless oceans, was at the centre of some of humankind's greatest breakthroughs including the printing press, steam power and automail, and he had helped others endure through famines, droughts and every kind of natural disaster. He had seen forests become villages, villages become cities and cities become ruins. He had studied the moon and stars, explored the depths of great volcanoes and found long lost treasures in forgotten caves.

He had seen history.

He had written history.

He had been history.

He believed his knowledge to be infinite, life no longer a journey full of surprises, but instead an endless string of discoveries made and remade. There was only one obscure mystery that had succeeded in stumping the knowledgeable alchemist.

The day he met Trisha Elric, a wisp of a girl at seventeen, her chestnut colored hair pulled up in curls, her brown eyes sparkling in the dim pub light and her soft smile pink and inviting as Pinako Rockbell introduced the new bar maid to her recently returned drinking buddy, Van Hohenheim unearthed something completely new and exciting and dangerous. Hohenheim hadn't needed to match Pinako shot for shot of cheap rum to be intoxicated. He was already drunk, his vision blurry, motor skills loose and speech sluggish as he'd watched Trisha work, intrigued by the delicate curve of her wrists, the kindness of her laughter and, he fully admitted, the hypnotizing swell of her rear end.

But this wasn't lust.

Hohenheim knew lust, understood it and how his mind and body reacted to the rush of blood and consuming energy. He also trusted it, because lust always went away once it was sated.

But not with Trisha Elric.

The more he saw her, the more they shared meals, enjoyed walks and made love, the more Hohenheim wanted her, unable to quench his need for the beautiful, gentle woman. It had taken centuries, but Van Hohenheim had at last discovered man's unconquerable summit.

He loved Trisha more than there were words in existence and he was hopeless to try and explain such wonderful, frightening and undefined feelings. He loved Trisha enough to marry her in the old Xerxes fashion, no longer considered legal but eternally binding in the immortal man's conscience. He loved Trisha so much that he confessed his deepest secret to her, condemning himself as the monster he was, made even more beastly by his selfish want to be with her. He loved Trisha so much that he gave her a son when she asked for a baby and that birth soon followed another at Trisha's mere mention of Edward needing a playmate. He loved her enough that he desperately sought a way to die, to end his cursed eternal life so that he wouldn't have to watch her and their children expire, seeking the dream to be with his family in the beyond. He loved her enough that he finally left, knowing it would hurt her, knowing she might hate him, but he wouldn't let the creature he had helped to create destroy her or their family.

Indeed, Van Hohenheim had loved Trisha Elric just as he loved his sons, never mind that the sentiment might not be returned. He understood love and its complexities enough that he knew his oldest boy, Edward, didn't stand a chance. He could clearly recall the moment he saw his son first encounter the mystery of love. It was Alphonse's third birthday, the last one Hohenheim had been home for…

* * *

_Ed crossed his arms and pouted as Al was lifted onto the black pony by their mother. That was the sixth time the younger Elric had been toted around the back yard and Ed was getting cranky. He was still too young to understand that his mother's love wasn't fickle and that she could never favor one of her sons over the other. Standing beside his eldest, who was moping as he sluggishly rocked on the tree swing in the front yard, Hohenheim kept his gaze focused on the road ahead, the noise of the birthday party fading away as father and son shared a rare quiet moment._

_"You should join the party," Hohenheim suggested softly._

_Ed grunted and looked away from his father with a scowl._

_"It's no fun. Al's hogging everything, even mom."  
_

_"Edward…" Hohenheim sighed. "We've been over this many times. Your mother loves you and your brother equally. It's wrong for brothers to be jealous of each other. Today, Alphonse has turned three years old. You should be proud your little brother is growing up happy and healthy. He looks up to you."  
_

_Ed's frame sagged under his father's words but he was still scowling, holding tight to his stubborn nature. Sometimes it worried Hohenheim that Edward was so much like him. However, because father and son were so similar, Hohenheim was fairly confident he knew how to coerce Ed into rejoining the party. _

_"If you don't go back, you'll make Al and your mother sad."  
_

_That did it._

_Sighing heavily, still obviously not very pleased with his responsibility as an older brother, but also no longer feeling pitifully sorry for himself, Ed slid off the swing and gave his father a resigned look that said he was prepared to return to the festivities._

_"Edo!"_

_Startled, Ed and Hohenheim turned back to look down the dirt road that led up to the house. Winry Rockbell was charging up the drive, her parents and grandmother strolling behind her._

_"She's in a dress," Ed muttered lowly, though Hohenheim heard his son's disbelieving observation._

_He smiled._

_The Rockbell girl wasn't one to wear dresses, preferring overalls which made it much easier to participate in the rough and tumble games of the Elric brothers. However, it seemed that for Al's birthday party Winry's parents had insisted she dress up. The four year old was wearing a light pink muslin summer dress with daises embroidered along the trim of her collar and skirt. A deep plum colored ribbon was tied into a pretty bow around her waist, the ends fluttering behind her like wings as she rushed up the path to greet her friend._

_"Hi, Ed!" Winry said happily. "Hello, Mr. Hoho."_

_"Hello, Winry," Hohenheim said before he stepped forward to greet Sarah, Urey and Pinako. As he exchanged pleasantries with the adults, Hohenheim kept a tight focus on the two four year olds and their conversation._

_"How come you're not at the party?" Winry asked._

_"I was bored," Ed excused quickly, his keen golden eyes staring jealously at the pretty box in Winry's arms. It was tied up with a ribbon in the same color as the one that donned Winry's waist, a large daisy tucked into the bow and a tag that had Al's name scrawled on it winked at Ed like a mocking jibe. Noticing Ed's scrutiny, Winry looked down quizzically at the present in her arms._

_"It's just a sweater," Winry whispered, taking a step closer to Ed. "I told my mom that clothes are no fun for birthday gifts. I think Al would have liked a toy toolkit better."_

_Ed rolled his eyes and refrained from telling Winry that she was the only person in all of Resembool who would actually like to get a set of tools for her birthday._

_"Why are you so grumpy?" Winry demanded._

_"I'm not," Ed growled. "I'm just bored."_

_"Well stop it!" Winry ordered. "It's Al's birthday and you should be happy. Grandma said your mom got a pony to give rides!"_

_"Al's hogging it," Ed groaned._

_"We'll get a turn later," Winry rationalized. _

_Ed nodded halfheartedly, his eyes focused on Winry with the look of a curious student. It was as if he had never seen Winry before and was closely examining her, taking mental observations and trying to determine if he liked this new, pretty and certainly not tomboyish Winry._

_"Why are you staring?" Winry whined, fidgeting under Ed's stare._

_"Why are you wearing a dress?" the four year old asked, his tone even but unreadable._

_"My mom made me."_

_"You're not gonna be able to ride the pony."_

_"I will, too!" Winry barked. "I can do anything I want, even in a dress. Don't be a meanie! Don't you like my dress?"_

_Ed froze under Winry's question, a becoming shade of rosy pink tinting his cheeks and ears. This reaction caught Hohenheim's attention and he scrutinized the scene before him, his attuned senses catching on to the subtle shift in his son's behavior._

_"Well?" Winry demanded impatiently._

_Ed's blush spread to his whole face and he frowned before violently looking away from Winry's imploring gaze. His fingers were unconsciously clenching and unclenching and he worried his bottom lips with his teeth. It was the first time Hohenheim had ever seen Edward react nervously towards the Rockbell girl._

_The golden man of countless years smiled a soft, warm little grin when Ed didn't answer Winry's question._

_"Should we go find Alphonse and wish him happy birthday?" Sarah suggested as she and Urey moved to join the two children. "You'll want to give him our present and see the look on is face when he opens it."_

_" 'Kay," Winry agreed. "Here, Ed." Moving quickly, Winry shoved the daisy that had been tucked in the bow of Al's gift behind Ed's ear and smiled. "Now get happy!" she ordered and turned to follow her parents into the backyard to give Al her congratulations. _

_Ed stood still in his spot by the tree swing, stunned into a dreamlike stupor as he watched Winry walk away from him. His eyes were trained on her with an awestruck entrapment and he watched her both intently and dreamily. One chubby hand reached up to softly touch the daisy she had placed behind his ear, fat little fingers caressing the flower as if it was something terribly precious._

_And that look said it all._

_Even though they were just children, their lives barely begun, Hohenheim knew that Edward would one day fall in love with the girl next door. That besotted look on the boy's face was the look of one slapped by love in a rushed, unexpected swing. He chuckled as Ed hobbled after Winry, careful not to let the daisy fall out of his hair as he scurried to the backyard. _

_"Well, isn't this interesting?" Pinako chortled as she moved to stand beside her friend. "You know, that's the same look you got on your face when you first met Trisha." _

_"Is it?" Hohenheim asked._

_"Mmm hmm. And you haven't been able to get your eyes off her since…"_

* * *

Hohenheim smiled to himself as he recalled Pinako's words.

That bright day was engraved in his mind as one of the happiest moments of his too short and too tragic family life. Watching as Ed had strived to capture Winry's attention over the course of the rest of the birthday party had intrigued Hohenheim. He found himself fascinated by every nuance of his eldest son as he witnessed a power far more surmountable than alchemy charge the air around Edward. When Winry had placed that daisy behind Ed's ear, a spark of energy had erupted around the pair. In that moment, Hohenheim watched as his son was broken down and rebuilt into something new and fresh and frightening and exciting.

He had been an onlooker to his son's first irreversible step into adulthood.

And because he was an exceptionally wise man, Hohenheim knew.

* * *

_So, there it is, short and sweet. _

_I'm really glad with this fic and now, I kinda want to write a Hohenheim/Trisha story. _

_Please, leave a review, but no flames, thank you!_

**Giant Nickel**


	10. Confession

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist_

**A/N:**_ Well, this is it, the first fic I've written since the last chapter came out. And OMG, what a final send off! Seriously, loved it, though I'm not sure if I'm happier that the story had such a wonderful conclusion, or that my fav pairing is now indisputably canon. You can't deny that that family portrait was beyond adorable. Ok, now that's out of my system, I'm very happy to be sharing this next fic with all of you. It's not a spoiler by any means since it takes nothing from the manga, but I think you'll enjoy it all the same._

_As always, happy reading! _

* * *

**Confession**

Ed rolled onto his belly and grunted as he glowered at the rays of sunshine casting slants of light on the walls of the room he shared with his brother. Furious that the sun dared to intrude on his hole of self-pity, the former state alchemist pressed his face into his pillow, willing the light to leave him to the swirling grey chaos of his irritation.

He could hear Alphonse laughing outside, his chortles accompanied by Den's playful barks. They were probably chasing each other around the yard, fully enjoying the first day of summer and loudly announcing their good humor for all of Resembool to hear. Folding the pillow over his ears, Ed tried vainly to block out the noise, his little brother's guffaws and shouts grating on his sour mood like nails on a chalkboard. Unable to stand it, Ed threw his pillow across the room before stomping to the window and slamming the shutters closed. While he had managed to block out the sunshine, Ed couldn't muffle his sibling's giggles and it made his hair bristle.

On any other day, Edward Elric would have sighed and watched with tired happiness as his little brother bounded across the expansive Rockbell yard, his yellow hair ruffling in the breeze, his bare feet padding against the dirt and grass, his hands pulling at Den's rope toy and his face full of color as he smiled and laughed. On this afternoon, however, Ed couldn't stand the sound of Al's sniggers because he knew his brother was laughing whole-heartedly at him.

Ed hated being the butt of any joke (short ones especially) and while he knew he should be ecstatic that Al was safe, healthy and _happy_ in his flesh and blood body, the disgruntled teenager was silently cursing his little brother for finding a very upsetting situation so humorous. Edward didn't even like to think about it, but as he collapsed back onto his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling, Al's laughter dredged up the humiliation of an hour ago…

* * *

_"Remember when I clocked Ed with that snowball?" Al wondered happily as he bit into a fresh strawberry tart._

_"But I got you back," Ed snorted, pieces of ham sandwich sputtering from his mouth._

_"Ed, don't talk with your mouth full," Winry admonished, her tone only slightly warning. "And besides, knocking down a six year old's snowman isn't something to be proud of."_

_"Well, Al shouldn't be so happy about smacking his older brother in the head with a snowball," was Ed's retort._

_"Kind of hard to miss a target so fat," Winry teased, sipping her milk. She ignored the narrowed stare her friend threw in her direction, smirking as she licked the frothy moustache from her upper lip. "How are you feeling today, Al?" she wondered._

_"Better and better all the time! You're a good doctor, Winry," the younger Elric praised._

_"I'm only as good as my patients," the sixteen year old commented as she moved to clear the dishes. "Seriously, Al, you look great."_

_She pinched his nose and smiled before leaning forward to take his empty dish. Blushing, Alphonse rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously as he watched Winry walk towards the kitchen sink. His eyes became inevitably focused on her bottom, concealed in a pair of overalls, dark grease smudges accenting the plump swells. Still getting used to his body, the fifteen year old felt his skin tingle and his blood surge, the blush on his nose spreading along his face as his eyes became dark and thoughtful. Lost in the hazy daydreams caused by Winry's backside, Al was taken completely by surprise when a boot thwacked him painfully in the head. Jolted rudely out of his ruminations, Al turned to stare at the only offender. _

_Ed was livid, his pupils so dilated they were almost black, his jaw set at a dangerous angle as he gnashed his teeth together. With fists clenched tightly he leaned heavily against the table and snarled._

_"See something you like, Alphonse?"_

_Easily recognizing the jealously in Ed's tone, Al smirked and leaned in close._

_"I'm not sure, Brother. Do you see anything worth appreciating?"_

_Sputtering at the audacity of his brother's teasing comment, and making a mental note to forbid Al from ever speaking to Mustang again – because where else would he have ever picked up that sort of attitude? – Ed tried to come up with a clever comeback, but was cut off by Winry._

_"You'd better be careful, Al. Gain a few more pounds and you'll be so cute all the girls in Resembool will lose their hearts," she said, completely oblivious to the brothers' argument._

_"No," Al gushed._

_"I'm serious. We'll have to get you working on your dating skills soon," Winry said as she rejoined the brothers at the table, ignoring Ed as he continued to stew, his face taking on a gruesome shade of burgundy as he snorted between the pair. _

_"Well…do you really think so?" Al wondered, rubbing his neck a second time in delightful nervousness. Winry nodded her firm belief, her smile brighter than the summer sunshine. "I guess…I mean, I don't know if girls would like me very much, or what I should do…but, at least I'm not completely unprepared. I've already had my first kiss."_

_"You what?" Ed demanded. _

_"Oh yeah, that's right," Winry sighed, tapping her chin thoughtfully. _

_"What do you mean, 'that's right'? How would you know?" Ed shouted._

_"You never told him?" Winry asked, flashing Al an inquisitive look. _

_"No. I knew he'd react like this."_

_"Like what?" Ed hollered, standing sharply, his legs knocking his chair over. _

_"Like a short-tempered idiot."_

_"Dammit, Winry! Don't call me short! You can't call me short when I'm taller than you!"_

_"Your height has nothing to do with anything," Winry responded, her tone bored and dismissive._

_Grumbling under his breath, Ed decided to drop the short argument and focus on the more pressing situation._

_"So, are you gonna tell me? Who have you been kissing behind my back?" he demanded, throwing Al an irritated sideways glance._

_"It wasn't behind your back, Brother. And who I've been kissing isn't any of your business."_

_"Don't tease him, Al. He'll just drive us crazy until you give in," Winry requested. Unable to say 'no' to her polite pleading, Al sighed and turned to Ed, blushing sheepishly as he answered._

_"Well, it was Winry."_

_"What?" Ed cried._

_"And, she kissed me…_

* * *

'_She kissed me_.'

The confession echoed through Ed's mind, more terrible than Mustang's snide taunts, louder than any short comment thrown in his direction, even scarier than fighting all seven homunculus and Father combined. Winry had kissed Al – she never bothered to deny the younger Elric's claim – and it seemed than neither one of them had regrets. In fact, they had chuckled, _fondly_, over the memory. Insulted beyond measure and frightened of the coursing desire to strike his brother in the face, Ed had stormed out of the kitchen and sought refuge in his bedroom, hoping Al and Winry had the sense to leave him alone.

"Still moping?"

Throwing his arms over his head to muffle his groan, Ed didn't bother to acknowledge Winry's entrance. He felt the bed shift as she pressed her weight on it, but he still waited a few minutes before bothering to look at her. She was kneeling on the floor, her arms resting on the mattress and her blue eyes boring into him like a drill.

"What?" he snapped.

"Stop being jealous. It's not good for Al."

"I'm _not_ jealous."

"That's right. You're beyond jealous. You're being selfish."

"Take that back, woman!"

"No! It's true."

"I'm not being jealous or selfish. I'm just sick of listening to you gush over Al all the time. It's even more annoying than when you get worked up on one of your automail lectures," Ed grunted, struggling to maintain his sincerity, not daring to allow himself to even consider the truth in Winry's blunt observations.

"Listen, my 'gushing' is for your brother's health,"

"Bullsh—"

"Ed, Al's soul was stuck in a suit of armor for five years, and when you got his body back it wasn't the ten year old body he had lost, but a teenager's. It's been seven weeks and even though he's almost physically recovered, we still need to think about his psychological health."

Ed stared at Winry, his eyes focused on her lips as she spoke, but his brain absorbing all she said. He frowned as he silently admitted that the girl had a point, but he still wasn't quite clear on her full meaning.

"Ok. Think about your arm," Winry suggested. "When you got it back it had grown to fit your body now."

"Yeah."

"And doesn't it sometimes feel weird to suddenly have a limb you didn't have for five years? Even weirder that when you first got it back it was frail and had atrophied, the complete opposite of your left arm?"

Ed nodded dumbly, flexing the limb in question, acknowledging only to himself that sometimes it did feel strange to have his flesh, blood and bone back where it belonged. He had thought he had been subtle over his occasional twinges of unfamiliarity, but he should have known that Winry would notice. It seemed sometimes that she noticed everything.

"Take that feeling, Ed, and times it by a whole body. I don't want Al to feel uncomfortable in his own skin, so if a few compliments and extra attention are what will keep his confidence up, then it's no big deal."

Frowning at his childish behavior, Edward sighed and sat up, ashamed of how he had acted. Though he and his brother had a history of fights, there was no true malice towards his sibling. He wanted to see Alphonse grow and be happy…to live the life he should have had he not so blindly followed his brother through muddy rivers to the edge of Hell.

And yet, as much as he loved his brother, Ed couldn't help the curiosity – or the desperate uncertainty – that plagued his heart.

"Is that why you kissed him?"

"Edward –"

"I'm serious. I want to know. Why did you kiss Al?"

"I was eleven!" she barked.

"Tell me anyway!" Ed barked back, disguising his relief that the incident had not taken place very recently.

"Fine!"

Crossing her arms, a becoming rose blush tinted her cheeks as she begrudgingly forced the confession past her lips.

"It was a few weeks before that spring," Winry began, not needing to clarify for Ed the year she meant. "You and Al were working on your alchemy so much I hardly ever saw you expect at school or the few nights you'd have dinner with me and Grandma. Do you remember we used to meet at the bridge before walking to school? Well, one day when I was waiting for you and Al…

* * *

_Winry ran her fingers through her hair, assuring herself for the seventh time that her blond tresses weren't frizzy. The humidity caused by the rain always made her hair stand on end and while she normally wouldn't have cared, today was a special day. She was wearing a new skirt, one that her Grandmother had ordered from a catalogue, and her galoshes were gleaming with the three coats of polish she had painted on them the night before. Her teeth were scrubbed thoroughly, her breath minty fresh, and her courage was beating through her body with each excited thrum of her heart. _

_Today, she was going to kiss Edward Elric. _

_After talking with some of the girls at school, Winry had been inadequately embarrassed to learn that most of her peers had already had their first kiss. Normally, kisses wouldn't have concerned the eleven year old whose mind was oft occupied with fantasies of ball-bearings and monkey wrenches, but the looks of charitable pity that her friends had showered on her when she confessed to not having shared her first kiss was all it took to make up her mind. _

_Winry Rockbell accepted no one's pity, not since the day a steam engine had squealed into town bearing the bodies of her parents. _

_While she was known to get into her fair scuffles at school, Winry didn't feel that fists and feet would ease her insecurity on the delicate matter. The only solution was to simply get her first kiss over and done with so that she could brag of her new experience to the others. Her mind made up, deciding which boy to kiss hadn't been difficult. The only two choices she had were Ed and Al, and although Alphonse was much sweeter than his brother, Winry wanted her first kiss to belong to Edward. _

_Of course, knowing the elder Elric so well, Winry knew he wouldn't agree to kissing her, so the sharp-minded child had come up with a clever scheme. She had secreted herself behind the large maple tree at the end of the bridge. The brothers raced each other everyday over that bridge on the way to school, the tree acting as the finish line, and Edward always won. Listening with focused purpose, Winry was waiting to hear the padding footsteps, and just when they would reach the tree, she would pop out from behind the trunk and kiss the temperamental boy before he had a chance to realize what was going on. _

_She held her breath when she heard the footsteps, first on the soggy path then on the stone of the bridge. When the steps were excitingly close, Winry shut her eyes and slipped from behind the tree, lips pursed. She caught the boy completely by surprise, kissing him perfectly on the mouth just as his hand reached out to slap the maple's bristly bark. The contact lasted barely a second, but it was firm and soft and had hit the mark. Breaking away, Winry kept her eyes closed and savored the feeling, wondering if she was any different for having kissed a boy. It was strange, though. Winry was sure Ed was a bit shorter than the boy she had just kissed._

_"H-h-h-hi, W-Wi-Winry," Al stuttered, his round face getting redder and redder by the moment as if he was caught in the throes of a fever. _

_"Al?" Winry hollered, opening her eyes to discover that she had ambushed the wrong Elric. "Where's Ed?" she asked, unable to think of an explanation for her actions._

_"H-h-he, he-he…um, he's not feeling well. I think he caught a cold from the last rainstorm. I made him stay in bed today."_

_"Oh," Winry replied, her bravado completely deflated before her ire began to rise. Leave it to Edward Elric to get sick on the day she decided to kiss him. When he was better, she was going to beat him to a pulp!_

_"I called Granny and she said she'd go over to make Brother some soup and watch him 'til I got back from school," Al explained, his blush prominent. When he finally had the courage to look Winry in the eye, his caramel orbs were sparkling with immense joy, his smile rivaling the sun and moon and stars and the happy ending of every fairy tale ever written. Just as her irritation with Edward had reached the breaking point, her sympathy for his brother made her heart swell and she knew she couldn't tell Alphonse about her mix-up._

_"Let's go, Al."_

_"OK. Let me take your bag."_

_Biting her bottom lip as the guilt swam in her stomach, Winry let Al carry her books for her to the schoolhouse…_

* * *

"So that's why he started carrying your books to school," Ed said, his voice touched with realization. "I couldn't get him to focus on alchemy for weeks."

"Well, I guess that's why," Winry offered, feeling her face get hot. "He seemed so happy about the whole thing, I didn't have the guts to tell him. Hurting Al is like watching titanium rust – it breaks my heart."

"Does he know now?" Ed wondered, his mind whirling with the ramifications of Winry's admission.

"I told him a few years later, one of the times you guys were visiting because you busted up your automail again. He laughed about it and said he got over his crush on me a long time ago. He even said that after he thought about it, it should have been obvious I was waiting for…" Winry trailed off, her eyes catching Ed's across the small distance between them. She saw the flecks of amber among the molten ore swirl and shudder with realization as the core of her confession struck his sharp mind, and the fact that her secret was out made the sixteen year old's nerves spasm with the unquestioning need to retreat. "OK, so you know why I kissed Al. We can leave this all behind us now," Winry decided firmly, her words coming out so rushed they sounded like one convoluted sentence. Blushing from the tips of her ears to the roots of her hair, she scrambled to her feet and moved towards the door when Ed reached out and caught her wrist.

"You were waiting for me," he said, his words measured, even, and so quiet they could have almost been the refrains of a prayer.

"Ed –"

"You were going to kiss _me_."

She turned to face him, determined to be brave when confronting the truth she had revealed. Still, the way that Winry dealt with honesty was much the same way Edward did, with flippant coolness.

"Yes, I was going to kiss _you_. It' not like it's a big deal. So wh –"

Because Ed was never coordinated when it came to girls, his spontaneous kiss landed more on Winry's chin than it did her mouth, but he still managed to catch her bottom lip with his top one and the sensation was as startling as a lightning strike. He pressed his body as close to Winry's as she would allow, his movements made all the easier when she looped her arms around his torso and held him against her. Not sure of what else he should do, Ed kept his lips idle, enjoying the simple sensation of kissing Winry lightly, her bottom lip caught between his own and just barely tasting of cherries. It was a moment he had been denied five years ago because of a bothersome spring flu, and now, the former state alchemist was determined to catch up on all of the small delights he had missed out on…at least, if they were still offered to him.

And from the way Winry kissed him back, it seemed she was more than willing to give him another chance.

Like most first kisses, it didn't last long. It was chaste and simple, something pure that both teenagers could carry with them well into their golden years. When they parted, Ed placed his brow against Winry's and breathed in the silence of the moment, relishing the way her long hair tickled his temples and how her nose crinkled just before she opened her eyes.

Unable to hold back his grin, Ed smiled at her cheekily before breaking out into muted chuckles that shook them both.

"What's so funny?" Winry wondered.

"I was just thinking," Ed snorted as he pulled Winry close. "The town gossips are going to have a ball with this one."

"What do you mean?"

Her question, delivered almost breathlessly, made Ed laugh so hard it was causing Winry's teeth to chatter as his grip strengthened.

"They're gonna start calling you a tease," Ed blurted out, his chortles making his cheeks burn burgundy when he noticed the agitated look Winry threw at him. "I mean, you did kiss _both_ of the Elric brothers!"

If he wasn't so deliriously happy, Ed might have had the sense to duck when Winry swung her wrench at his head.

* * *

_And that's another chapter added!_

_To those who have reviewed and have not received a reply from me, I am truly sorry for my tardiness. My college classes run through the summer, so my time isn't always easily avaliable for writing. I do make it a priority of mine to reply to those who review, so I swear that I will respond, I'm just not sure when. Please, accept my apology and you will hear from me soon!_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this fic. I know that the BIG scene in the manga has Ed and Winry confessing at the Resembool train station, but do you really think two years went by without either of those two getting up to a little romantic mischief? If anything, they did seem closer in that scene, and I think that some flirting and kissing along the way could easily be why. _

_Please, leave a review. No flames, please and thank you!_

_Holla if you loved the FMA final chapter!_

_Lots of happiness all around the internet!_

**Giant Nickel**


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